The Shell
by LynxOnSmoothies
Summary: Spoilers for Jurassic World. Raptors imprint on the first thing they see, as do most predators. The Indominus was no different. The question was, on who did it imprint? Contains: Mild language, gore and violence. Picture by Mariolanzas on Tumblr (Check his stuff out; it's mind-blowing!)
1. Chapter 1: The Hatching

The eggs were rocking back and forth violently by the time everyone had been gathered in the small room. Faint noises could be heard from the chamber, nearly swallowed up in the excited roar of the collected scientists, workers, and executives. Well, really only one executive; Claire Dearing, the park manager, who was watching impatiently from the upper deck, her phone still glued to her head. I'm sure that if I had tried, I could have picked up on what she was saying, but my attention was elsewhere.

My eyes watched the larger of the two eggs rock, emotions swirling inside me in a strange mixture of dread and maternal pride. This was my first egging, and it was to be monsters. A light touch on my shoulder made me jolt, turning to look into warm black eyes.

"It's exhilarating, isn't it?" Henry Wu turned to face the eggs, his hand tightening. "Our first _official_ hybrids," he said with a chuckle. Turning to face me fully, he beamed a brilliant grin. "And it's your very first batch too! Makes it all that much more special, doesn't it?" He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze before moving closer to the hatching chamber.

Well, he wasn't wrong: these were definitely going to be special. Special good or special bad, I didn't know. Heaving a sigh, I surveyed the room with disbelief. It had been a miracle that Henry Wu had stumbled across my Cross-Species Genetics thesis and had even bothered to read it, let alone agree with it. It was only a few days after he read it that I was snatched up by InGen to work on a hush-hush genetics project for Jurassic World, with Henry's blessings. That was only three months ago, and now I was here, in the middle of a mass of far more experienced geneticists and about to make history.

A loud crack silenced the chatter of the room, all eyes turning to the eggs. A large crack adorned the larger egg, and a low churring could be heard through the gap. Another push yielded a black talon, which scrabbled for purchase on the smooth outer shell. The other egg cracked, a soft coo coming from inside. Both specimens had breached the shell, a good sign. The first's talon caught the egg of a shell fragment, and yanked it away to reveal an amber eye.

My breath caught in my throat, as my green met gold. It's pupil slit as it watched me move closer to the dome, coming to stand by Henry. It shoved the rest of it's body out of the egg gracelessly, stumbling to right itself.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Henry's voice yanked me out of my trance, allowing me to turn away. I nodded to him, as the little raptor hissed and stumbled. Cheers had broken out in the room, as the other egg finally spilled its inhabitant to the open air. She gave an indignant squeak as she rolled herself from her back, making Henry laugh. He patted me on the back, before going up to field Claire's questions. I almost joined him, but just couldn't bring myself to move away from the glass.

The littler one had finally righted herself, checking around the room with adorable little head tilts. The larger one had made its way to right in front of me, watching me with those bright gold eyes. Looking between the two siblings, I took note of their differences; height, size, coloring. One thing in particular confused me about their differences; the first one had small, hair like spines on its neck. Unusual, as most often traits like that were carried to all of the species, not specific members like this.

I was pulled from my contemplation of this by Claire's high pitched voice. "Samantha!" I turned to face her, ignoring the small rumble from the raptor. She was leaning over the railing, smiling gleefully at me. "This asset is going to be a huge success in the park! Profits are going to be up by at least thirty percent in the first month! However," her smile turned coy, "I think it needs a name. Something catchy and easy to pronounce. What have you got for me?" The room noise in the room was deafening by this point, as I turned to look back at the hatchlings.

The elder one tilted its head at me, eyes glowing with intelligence beyond what it should. "Indominus Rex," I said, my voice quiet in the loud room. I turned to look at Claire, and said it louder. "Indominus Rex!"

Claire smiled at me, putting her phone to her ear. Faintly through the noise of the room I could hear her. "Yeah, Indominus Rex. Get the backers on the line; they'll want to be a part of this."

* * *

Okay, I'm horrible for starting this. Sorry.


	2. Chapter 2: The Transfer

It had been twelve hours since I had last seen the hatchlings, and I couldn't have been more relieved. The way they watched me was unnerving, their amber eyes rarely wavering from my own. However, my lack of interaction with the little monsters was about to end. Due to the Cuttlefish genes we had implanted, the pair had already grown too big for the lab Egg Dome and were now to be moved to the specially made enclosure for them.

Why did I have to be there? One word: Claire. She had gotten this insane idea that it would be, and I quote this, "better for business if a scientist follows their progress to full maturity, to prove our work ethics to the backers!" That lady and her backers, I swear…! One of these days…. Well, anyway, I was sitting in the back seat of an ACU van, looking at the containers that were only moments from containing my—as Henry liked to call them—"Little Angels". He was so full of it some days, but really, with how much he has done, he can get away with it.

The little window separating me from the driver slid open, and the passenger leaned through. "We'll be there in just a moment. " He hesitated, his face scrunched up uncertainly. "You sure you want to ride back there with them? I mean, it will be a little cramped and if anything happens…" I waved him off, giving a reassuring smile.

"I trust you guys to keep me safe." He gave me a 'hmm' before disappearing from view. I returned my attention to the cages, heart pounding. In all honesty I was terrified; I was going to riding in the back of a small van with two creatures that we had designed to be terrifying killers. On second thought, maybe this wasn't the smartest idea.

The van slid to a halt, and the back of the van opened. Once I had reached the lab, I could hear ACU attempting to coax the hatchlings into the small transfer cage. Opening the door, I was greeted with an amusing sight. Several of the bigger guys were standing shoulder to shoulder, staring down the bigger hatchling who was chirping and trilling at them. If I didn't know any better, I would have said it was trying to talk to them… or taunt them. The smaller one was attempting to grab a piece of meat from a person I recognized as Katashi Hamada, one of the older ACU men.

Katashi threw up his hands in exasperation after the meat was snagged from him, and turned to face me. His face quickly changed to relief. "Thank God you're here! You made them, you know how they work, right?" I shook my head, and grabbed the bucket of meat before stepping into the dome. The smaller one noticed me immediately, eyes fastening on my own. It clattered over to me, bobbing it's head and trilling. At the trilling, the bigger one turned to look at me too, before coming towards me much more gracefully than it's younger sibling.

Both began trilling at me, tilting their head's with curiosity. I began to back away from them towards the open cage, pulling out a piece of meat as I went. I'll be honest, my heart was going a hundred miles an hour at this point, with both sets of eyes following me. There was an unnatural intelligence glinting in those eyes, following me with unwavering precision as I slipped behind the cage, throwing the meat into the cage.

Crouching behind the cage, I could see the smaller one slip into the cage to get the meat. I froze when I realized I couldn't see the big one. A small chirp from behind made me spin, and come face to snout with it. It's big gold eye watched me, as it slowly blinked, the white lid contrasting with the gold brightly. Bobbing it's head at me, it cooed before slipping around to the front of the cage and inside. Katashi's voice came from the front of the cage.

"Got'em!" After that the ACU personel moved quickly to load the cage into the van, and I was hustled in as well. The hatchlings were chirping from inside the cage as we went, seemingly chatting to each other. If they didn't scare the _hell_ out of me, I would have thought it was cute. As it was, it only reminded me of the raptor chicks from about six months back. Those had been given to Joshua Davis for the training program that Masrani had authorized; something about testing the intelligence of the raptors.

I took out my notebook and began detailing the behaviors I had witnessed for Henry, who had been quite upset that he wasn't going to be able to follow their progress as closely as he had wanted to. It was about thirty minutes into the hour and a half drive that I realized it was completely silent. They hadn't made a noise for goodness knows how long.

Tensing up, I raised my head to look at the cage, and yelped. Golden eyes were peering at me through a slit in the metal, black talons hooked around the bar. A light clattering drew my attention away from the golden eyes watching me. I felt my heart stop as I watched black claws fiddle with the latch for the cage. It lifted it up a little before clattering down again and I released a sigh. That was right, the cage had a lock with a key to it; the latch was just an extra measure. But still, they were smart enough to know how to open the cage.

I leaned away from the cage, doing my best to ignore the eyes watching me, and periodically checking the cage door. It was impossible for them to get open, but… that's what everyone thought about Jurassic Park too.

And look how that turned out. I sighed, thinking back to the enclosure. I had already inspected it, but I still felt uneasy. These two were going to grow to 50 ft in length when fully grown, and I worried about how they were both going to fit in the enclosure comfortably. I had been reassured by the builders that if necessary they could expand it, but I wasn't reassured at all.

When we arrived at the enclosure, they released the pair inside, where they ran off into the thick vegetation. I went up to the observation room, and peered at the screens. I turned to look at the guard who was on duty. "Can I get a full thermal scan of the enclosure?" The guy nodded, running the program. They showed up on Camera Three, sniffing around a big tree. I gave a smile to the guard.

"Thanks. Will you be on night duty as well?" He shook his head, watching the cameras.

"No Ma'am. Buchanan will be." I nodded, turning to look out the wide bay windows facing the enclosure.

"Tell him to watch carefully. This is their first time out of the Hatching Dome, and I don't know how they'll react." He gave me an affirmative, before going back to watching the cameras. I watch the shivering underbrush, as the bigger one appeared and looked up at me. I narrowed my eyes; how could it see me?

* * *

Okay, a quick response to something that Mas2009 mentioned. I didn't use Owen Grady as the one that was imprinted on due to the fact that later on he mentions that he had no knowledge of the Indominus Rex until Claire brought him into the project. I also have plans for his involvement later on, so he was out. Claire was out due to her simple failing to understand that animals are living things, which would have gotten in the way of any interaction I had planned with the Indominus. So that's why it's an OC.

Review to let me know what you think.


	3. Interlude 1: The Thoughts

Okay, this is a trial run kind of chapter. It will be from the point of view of the Indominus Rex. I have a POLL going on my profile for whether or not to do chapters, so if you have an opinion, go ahead and vote. Thanks guys!

* * *

Warm.

Very warm.

Too tight, so loud.

Out. Have to get out. Too tight!

Bright, even louder. _Green._

Out. Colder.

Alone. Alone?

No, not alone. Another still in egg.

Doesn't matter.

 _Green._

What was green?

Eyes. Green eyes.

Safe… _Green_

Stay close to Green

Green look away, towards loud white.

White? Am white. Littler one is white. Why?

Littler one talking. Asking who Green? Don't know, no other is green

Green looking at us again. Saying something.

"In….nus Rex" look away "Indominus Rex!"

Littler one ask me. Don't know. Is that us?

Is that me?

* * *

Okay, so this is a bit shorter than a normal chapter because this is a trial run. If you guys want more than the chapters will be longer. Thanks for reading this, and be sure to vote in the poll!


	4. Chapter 3: The Feeding

"No." My voice was blank. This wasn't going to happen, no matter how long Lucas gave me the puppy dog eyes. They were surprisingly effective for being on a six foot five man built like a brick wall, which they really shouldn't be.

"Come on, Sam. Please! They respond to you better than anyone else; all you have to do is go into the enclosure and feed them. That's it!" Lucas was waving his baseball sized mitts around as he explained, looking far too happy. Then again, when did Malachi Lucas look anything but happy?

"I know that's it! I have been observing them for the past week almost nonstop! I would hope that I know how the process works by now."

"So sassy today. But really, don't you have to have more—and I quote this so don't shoot the messenger— 'hands on experience' with the first resultants of Projects Ares*?" I could punch him.

Looking over to the large, barred door I groaned. Truth be told I _did_ need more hands on experience with the former hatchlings if I was to make a full report for Henry. "Fine." Lucas grinned, shoving the bucket of meat—possibly goat, as it seemed to match the nutritional needs of the carnivorous quite well—and began pushing me through the door.

"Hey wait!" Lucas slammed the door shut behind me, before calling me on my radio.

"You'll do fine. Call me if you need anything." And then silence. That man was going to be the death of me. Glancing around the enclosure hesitantly, I realized how absolutely horrible of an idea this was. I was already defenseless against them, and now I was in a highly vegetated enclosure with no visibility.

As I turned in circles warily, I could hear rustling. They were watching me, waiting for me to turn my back towards them so they could— "*Chirp!*" I leapt, giving a small yip. Spinning around, I found myself eye to eye with amber. Holy crow, they were already that big? I knew that they would be growing fast—I _was_ part of the team—but I didn't think the growth would be this accelerated. It had only been two weeks since they had hatched, and they had tripled in size!

The one that had met my gaze tilted its head and gave another chirp. I relaxed slightly; definitely none aggressive behavior, if the velociraptor's were anything to go by. It lowered its head, eyes still locked with mine, and nudged the bucket. A light trill erupted from its throat.

"Oh, you want some?" I asked, giving myself a little shake. They were intelligent, yes, but not that intelligent. I was subsequently surprised when it raised its head back up and gave a little nod. Much more intelligent than anticipated, then. I reached in the bucket and grasped a handful of meat, tossing it away from me.

A push from behind had me toppling over with a shriek—don't yell, that will make their hunter instincts lock on—and I dropped the bucket. A low growl and a large clawed foot stepped down in front of me. The bucket rattled as I slowly crawled away from the hybrid. This one was much bigger than me, its neck spines as long as my forearms and its head as big as my torso. It grasped the bucket, ripping through the metal like tissue; I winced, trying not to think of what those claws could do to me.

As I backed up towards the trees—I might be able to climb them—when my radio went off. "Sam? Sam? Doctor Jones? Are you alright?" I reached over and shut it off, but it was too late. It dropped the bucket, straightening up. Easily more than two feet taller than me, it's tail longer than I was tall, and a hell of a lot stronger than I was; all of that, now focused on me. I scrambled back as it advanced; I could see out of the corner of my eye that the smaller one had finished its snack as well. My back hit solid wood, I had reached the tree.

Hot breath wisped around my face, curling around me and messing my dirty blond hair. White leathery skin brushed my nose, and it breathed in. It backed up, turning to look at its smaller sibling. They were churring, and chirping at each other, communicating, though I could only guess at what they were saying. Perhaps talking about me?

They both looked back over at me, moving closer. I blankly noticed how much more graceful they were now verses when they were freshly hatched. I could almost feel proud—perhaps those latent maternal genes that Henry kept claiming I had expressing themselves?

"SAM! Doctor Jones!" Loud voices from inside the enclosure caused them to back away and disappear into the brush. Lucas and a few others burst from the bushes a moment later.

"Doctor Jones! Are you alright? We could see you on the cameras, but…" I sighed, standing up after taking Lucas's hand. He patted my shoulder, chattering on at me as we walked back to the door. As I reached the door, a screech echoed through the enclosure. I stiffened and Lucas shoved me through the door, which was bolted shut after everyone was through. Only moments later something smashed against the reinforced iron.

* * *

I flopped down on my bed, arm thrown across my eyes. I was so confused. They had multiple opportunities to kill me, as I was defenseless, but they hadn't. I wasn't that they weren't aggressive; they had proved that they were towards the ACU staff when they were retrieving me. They clearly had the means to kill me, as the elder one had demonstrated with the bucket.

So why was I alive?

My phone buzzed on my nightstand, and I swept it up. "Yes?"

"Hello Sam, it's Henry." Henry's voice was raspy, an odd occurance considering his reliance on tea. I dismissed it as being due to the fact that it was already 11 at night. I could hear some clinking and faint voices farther off. I frowned slightly; he wasn't working late again was he?

"Oh hey. What did you need?" I focused in on the background noise. Yup, he was most certainly working late again. We had talked about this...

"In your report you made note of the unexpected growth of the subjects of Project Ares. What kind of unexpected growth?"Henry's voice was concerned, understandably; they were as much his creations as they were mine. I rubbed my eyes, looking over at my laptop as I sat up.

"They are...a bit _bigger_ than expected."

* * *

So the poll is going to be open until I post the next chapter, so if you haven't voted and you want to, head on over to my profile and cast your vote. Thanks!

*Project Ares is the name given to the genetic enhancement program implemented in Jurassic World. I didn't make this up; it's completely canon.


	5. Chapter 4: The Fixing

Okay so the poll is closed and the results are in! Majority wanted Indominus Rex POV, but only once in a while. I'll be doing one every two or three chapters, however, for those who did not want them, be aware that they are ENTIRELY OPTIONAL. You do not need to read them to understand the story, but they do add another level of depth.

On a different note, this was meant to be up on Friday. However, I couldn't log into my account to do anything. I kept getting an ERROR 505 message. Oh well, I tried.

* * *

It was a frantic call at noon the next day that chilled my blood. I had been with Henry, talking about the unexpected growth I had observed in the hatchlings, when his phone rang.

"Yes?" His voice was a tad bit irritated; he never liked to be interrupted, whether it was work or pleasure. Panicked babbling was all I could hear before Henry slammed his hand down on the table, eyes glinting with excitement.

"You're sure of this?" More muffled exclamations, before he hung up. His eyes near glowing, he peered at me over my tea cup, which I had raised to sip. "They attacked the feeders."

If he had been just a second earlier with that, I would have spit my tea right in his smug face. "What? Are they alright?" It only took a moment for me to realize I wasn't asking about the personnel. I held back a shudder; why wasn't I more concerned with the humans involved then the monsters I had made?

Henry brushed a hand over his short hair, sighing as he stood up and motioned for me to follow. Odd, really. He rarely left the lab except to head to his quarters to sleep, and often not even then. As we strode from the labs and out the back to the car lot, he began speaking.

"One of the hatchlings sustained 'minor damage' but both appear to be fine. One of the feeders was rushed to the medical center for treatment; fool nearly lost an arm and—" Henry was cut off by his phone ringing. As he answered it he motioned me on towards the car.

"Claire? Yes I heard I—No, there was no indica—look, that's not how—CLAIRE! I'm on my way over to the paddock—what do you mean that I—Masrani? Fine." He put his hand over the mouth piece of the phone and whispered over to me, "Sam, head on over to the paddock. At least one of us needs to check over the subjects of Project Ares; we've invested too much for this to go south now. You can use my supplies; they're in the back of the Jeep on the left." He quickly strode off towards the main building, almost snarling at Claire over the phone. I could only stand in disbelief at the entire situation, and as I drove over to the paddock, all I could think was

'That could have been me.'

When I finally got to the paddock only minutes later, I sat in the Jeep trying to calm my nerves. I was going to be fine, and I certainly wasn't going to back out. Henry was right; too much had been invested in the project for me to give it up so easily. Stepping out of the Jeep with the medical supplies, I steeled myself and went towards Lucas, who was standing by several others.

"Where is it?" Lucas nodded at the enclosure, eyes hard.

"We managed to contain it to the North side of the enclosure, and the other to the East. We'll be escorting you." Inside the paddock the air felt charged, and I could hear snarls coming from the East side of the paddock. When I looked at Lucas uneasily, he shifted his eyes away from me. "The bigger one's been like that since you left yesterday. The smaller one is the one that was injured."

"Which one attacked the man?"

"The bigger one." I would have questioned him further, but we had reached the clearing. Several of the ACU were there with electric prodders and taser-like guns pointed towards the hissing hatchling, which had curled itself underneath one of the larger ferns. I could see the gash along its lower right leg, bleeding muddy red all over the ground. I needed to patch that up badly.

A few shots from the ACU unit's tranqs put the Rex down pretty swiftly and I moved in. Clean, disinfect, bandage, done. As I knelt by the raptor, I remembered; neither had been fitted with their tracking chips yet, a small oversight by the labs. I grabbed one of the spares we kept in the kits and a scalpel, slicing open the leathery skin on the shoulder. The incision was just large enough for me to slip the tracker in, and I swiftly sewed up the wound.

It had all gone too smoothly, and I realized that too late. As I stood up to leave, it's tail whipped around and smashed into my side. I yelped, feeling skin give way to the brutal strength it possessed. It stumbled up, ignoring me and darted back to the wall, hiding behind some foliage. It was still quite visible, but I don't think anyone was complaining.

Lucas gave me a hand up, a concerned look on his face. "I'm fine," I waved him off. "Just gonna have some bruising tomorrow. Anyway, tell the guys over by the other one to tranq it; I have to implant a tracker in that one too." Lucas looked as if he was going to protest, but he gave in and called over. In moments I was there, implanting the tracker into the tissue of the drowsy raptor. However, unlike its younger sibling, this one did not attack me once I was done, but instead crooned softly before flopping its head back down.

I held back a fond smile; the motion reminded me of my old dog when I was kid, flopping down as if boneless. The comparison was a little off though, as one was a loyal companion, and the other had just brutally maimed a man. Still, as I strode out of the enclosure, hearing the calls of the two siblings, I couldn't shake the image.

* * *

Alright, so I believe I mentioned this before, but I am taking some liberties with the timeline of the Indominus Rex, as nothing was ever really established about it's growth.


	6. Interlude 2: The Wanting

Hungry.

We both are hungry. Littler one complaining about how late food is. Promising to eat the things that bring food if they don't hurry.

Shee won't do it, too much risk of not bringing back food. Is smarter than she acts.

Hmm? Something came in. Can feel the warmth from it… Warmth? We can be warm, but also cold. How odd. Can they do that too?

Can _Green_ do that too?

We talk about _Green_. Is it like us, or is it like them? Don't know. Only met Green a few times, not usually around. See Green in the glass cage sometimes.

Miss Green. Green color all around in plants, but not the same. We both agree.

Littler one calls. Calls about food, calls about _Green_. Green? Couldn't be, but…

See Littler one. See food container.

"Oh, you want some?" I know that voice. That voice….

I nudge the figure (warm), knocking it over. It makes a funny squeak.

The meat is spilled on the floor. Hungry.

I eat from the meat. Littler one has assured me she has her own.

"Sam? Sam? Doctor Jones? Are you alright?" The feeder thing is still here? Odd. I look over and see

 _GREEN._ It was Green. Been so long.

I move towards Green, but Green moves away. Why? Won't hurt Green. Definitely won't hurt Green.

Never.

Green is trapped against the tree, nowhere to go. I scent Green—sweet sweet—and remember it. Other two legged things don't smell like Green does.

Like safety.

I ask Littler one. She says she never has smelled anything like Green either. Littler one asks me. I respond. Haven't seen Loud White in a while. Why did she ask? I ask him. She says White usually comes with Green when in the glass cage.

We both agree. Don't like White.

Littler one asks. I wonder the same. Was Green always so small? We both think not. Are we bigger? Maybe.

Voices. We hide. Why do we hide? The others not safe. We don't like them either. We watch from the leaves as they lead Green away.

Littler one mad. I am mad. They are taking Green away. Don't want Green to leave. Littler one screams. Says don't go.

She smashes against the door, the door that _Green_ is on the other side of. Littler one snarls and claws at the door, but I wonder.

What is outside the door?

* * *

Next day we wait. Will Green be there again?

The door opens. Not Green. Not Green the next day, or the next, or the next.

I want Green, not this one. Maybe if I get rid of this one, Green will come back? I attack, I rip, I tear.

Shots and yelling. Littler one screeches. Screeches, PAIN. Is Littler one hurt? More of the others come, keep me against the wall. Hear voices elsewhere, where I can scent Littler one.

Crackling from the small things in the others ears. Small biting pains. I feel sleepy.

On the ground, when did I get on the ground? I feel odd. Fuzzy, like the small fern plants when they brush me. I smell sweet, something sweet. Only one thing sweet.

Green.

Puts something in my back. I ask Green what it is. Green doesn't understand, turns to go.

Please don't go.


	7. Chapter 5: The Handler

Sorry about the wait on this. Life just wrecked me temporarily and I was overwhelmed. To be honest, I really should be doing homework right now, but I decided I had neglected all of you long enough.

* * *

Owen Grady: the new raptor handler. Apparently InGen brought him in to test a hypothesis that Henry had about the trainability of raptors. The velociraptors, to be specific. Supposedly he was an ex-Navy guy, and had all of these awards, so that somehow made him qualified to be the raptor handler. Hoskins practically worshiped this guy, so that might be why he got called in to replace Davis. Poor guy, heck of a way to go; we had to put that whole batch down after the incident. I rolled my head, popping my neck. I really couldn't care about the entire situation either way, though I did have one question.

Why was I the one who had to greet him?

Standing on the pier, looking at the growing ship on the horizon, I sighed. This was more Claire's field than mine, but yet again, Henry had finagled the system into getting his way. _Why_ he had decided to make me do this was a question I intended to ask him once I got back; I already _knew_ he had something to do with this.

I huffed; at least it was a break from watching the hatchlings. No one was allowed into the containment area with them anymore, so feeding was occurring by attaching a dead cow to a hook and lowering it down. I didn't like it. It was far too impersonal off an approach to dealing with clearly intelligent creatures, and it was having negative side effects.

It had only been about a month since the change, and I had already observed some pretty concerning changes in behavior. Aggression was increasing, towards the walls, trees and each other, as was the lack of curiosity about the handlers that would appear in the observation deck. I was the only presence that got any recognition, and Lucas had jokingly said that it was almost "obsessive" how they would watch me. Henry believes that due to the raptor DNA implemented in their creation that they may have imprinted on me. I remained skeptical, as I was certain I was not the first person they saw.

That aside, the negative behaviors were worrying, and I wasn't pleased to have been pulled away from my observations to greet this military jarhead. I had finally given in, and had stopped being in denial; I found my hatchlings adorable, and was concerned about them, no matter how hard I had fought it. I kept it a secret though, didn't want Henry gloating about how he was right regarding my maternal instincts.

Checking back towards the boat, I could see the people now. Probably another ten minutes and it would arrive, and then it would be smiles and coddling. Ugh, I didn't want to play tour guide.

Those ten minutes were agonizing, filled with nothing but yelling tourists behind me, and open sea in front of me. As the boat docked, I straightened my clothing; though I wasn't thrilled to be doing this, I might as well make a good impression. As the tourists streamed off the boat, I realized a very important fact.

I had no clue what this Owen Grady looked like. I could have cried; all this time waiting for him and I didn't think to ask what he looked like? I didn't even have a little sign with his name on it! I guess my face was a sight, as it was enough to make one person stop to ask about me.

"Ma'am, is everything alright? You look… upset." I looked towards the speaker. He was a tall guy, perhaps mid-thirties. Had the whole rugged thing going for him, though he stood straight like a rod; military perhaps? Seemed nice enough, seeing as he had bothered to check on me.

"I am supposed to meet a new member of the staff here, but they only told me his name. I have no idea how to catch his attention, nor find him. It's a bit of a problem." I ran my hand through my hair, biting back a grimace at how he smirked at me. Okay, maybe I was wrong. Maybe this guy was a dick.

"Then let me help you out." He stuck out his hand—the one not occupied by a duffle bag—and gave a shit-eating grin "Name's Owen Grady. I'm new." I stared at his hand for a moment, before giving an incredulous laugh and grasped it firmly.

"Samantha Jones, genetic specialist. I'm not new." I released his hand and started off down the pier, waving for him to follow me. As we went, Grady peered around at all of the stores and memorabilia.

"Really milk it for all it's worth, don't ya?" He inquired this while eyeing a T-rex plushy dubiously. I couldn't blame him; some of the stuff we sold was crazy. That said, I had a T-rex plushy in my room, and I loved it.

"It's a market," I said, channeling Claire. "We give the people what they want, they give us money and we repeat the process infinitely." He gave me a strange look, but I just smiled. "However, you aren't here for the merchandise. I assume you were informed of what you would be doing?" At his nod, I continued. "Good. Then I'll skip the basics and move onto the advanced courses. To assist you in creating a bond with the raptors, we made sure you would get here pre-hatching."

"Why would that help?" Grady sidestepped a family of Japanese tourists, and strode back to my side. We were almost to the lab by this point, but it was slow going; tourists were everywhere.

"Many of the predatory dinosaurs imprint on the first thing they see, and the velociraptors are no exception. While it won't be the end all fix to making them like you, it will get you a foot in and enough of a chance to convince them that you're worth their time." Grady laughed a bit, and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

"You make them sound like they can think as people." I stopped, Grady stopping next to me. I faced him, so blankly serious that Grady's eyes tightened.

"They can. Never forget that. These are nature's perfect predators and possibly the most dangerous creatures you will ever encounter." I began walking again, not bothering to check and see if he was still following. He caught up only moments later.

"Was there an incident? Sounds like it's still raw." His eyes were sharp, picking apart my expression for any hints he could pick up.

"You weren't briefed on Jurassic Park?" He shook his head as the heavy doors to the central building opened. "Well then. I'll give you the Cliff Notes. Basically, Jurassic Park was sabotaged by Ned Flandry, the technical wizard running most of the park. He shut down all of the systems, and to get them back online properly, they shut off the power. First things out were the raptors. Out of the twenty people still on the island at the time, the raptors were responsible for fifteen deaths, and were nearly responsible for the ending of the rest." I shrugged. "Long story short, the handler of the raptors had warned everyone that the raptors could learn, and were too dangerous to live. The archaeologists that Hammond had brought in agreed, but no one listened and Jurassic Park was brought to its knees."

I led him past the glass labs to the hatching rooms. "And that's not even counting the recent incident." I glanced back at Grady, who was watching me intently. It was a tad unnerving. "Joshua Davis was training a group just like you will be. He under estimated their intelligence and got yanked into the enclosure." Grady looked at me, eyes glowing with interest.

"What happened to him?" I took him down one of the side halls and swiped my security card. I paused at the door, looking at him with grim eyes. My voice was matter-of-fact as I replied.

"They ate him alive." He stood there for a moment as I went further in, his hand holding the door open. "Try not to end up the same way; we have a yearly hiring limit." He let the door slam behind him as he followed after me.

"Ah well, that's comforting." Grady watched as we passed room after room of eggs. "Why the new raptors?" I turned down another hallway.

"After the incident, they became increasingly hostile and violent towards handlers. Several injuries occurred as they aggressively attempted to escape. We were forced to put them down." I swiped my card for room P2998, and motioned him in. "So, we're starting fresh." Several technicians glanced up at our arrival, but we were quickly dismissed by most. One hurried up to me, his data pad clutched in his hands.

"Dr. Jones! You're just in time, the eggs are almost ready." I nodded, looking over the eggs. I would have taken Grady to drop off his belongings at his accommodations, but we were running a tight shift, what with InGen breathing down our necks on this one. I didn't know what was so important about this project, but the emphasis was getting old.

Grady leaned over the hatching dome, curiously watching the gently rocking eggs. "Anything I should know?" He flitted his eyes to me, before going back to egg watching.

"Make sure to make eye contact." I glanced at my watch; time to go find Henry. "I'll be back in an hour; that should be plenty of time for you guys to begin bonding." Once I was outside the room, I remembered and stuck my head back in.

"Oh, and Grady?" He looked at me. "Get comfortable with them. During their young months, you'll be feeding them by hand." His eyes widened, and he went to protest, but I was already gone.

I had one Henry Wu to be passive aggressive towards for an hour. _At least._

* * *

 _EDIT: I am so confused. My Word file says this has 1,474 words, but FF says I have 1,554 words. If you see anything repeating or errors in the document that would cause this, let me know. I can't find one._


	8. Chapter 6: The Checkup

I FIGURED IT OUT. For some reason, FF will sometimes count punctuation as a word, even when it is attached to an already existing word. Who knew?

* * *

"I am not naming them." My voice was dead as I flipped through my notebook, studiously looking away from the man next to me. I was also very carefully avoiding the golden eyes watching me from the enclosure.

"Why not? It would make them easier to identify." I gave Lucas a look, "Okay, easier to identify when talking about them." I flipped another page in my notebook.

"They are not pets, Lucas. We have to remember that."

"Fine." He threw his hands up and walked off. I sighed, putting my notebook down on the small table someone had brought in for me, leaning forward in my chair. My eyes met theirs. They always stared when I was there, which was often.

I rubbed my face, ignoring the inquiring chirping from below. To be honest, I was afraid to name them. I was already getting attached to them, far more than I should have been. Naming them would only drive home the connection.

Make them real.

I stood up abruptly, walking over to the panel. As the crane lowered the cow into the enclosure, I watched as they ripped it apart. Monsters, see Sam? You can't get attached. They aren't like dogs or cats; they could _kill_ you. As I tried to convince myself, the larger one looked up at me, and chirped. The small one did the same, and I knew then what they were doing.

 _You're welcome._

"Hey, Lucas?" The big man looked over sulkily from where he was pouting.

"What?"

"Did you have any names in mind?" I ignored the grin that spilled across his face, eyes on the pair of I Rexes. They were watching me.

* * *

A Week Later…

"Checkup time, huh?" I huffed at Katashi, who shouldered his rifle. "And you're _sure_ you don't want to tranquilize them first?" I closed my kit, looking uncertainly at the door. I had been, but the repeated asking was getting to me.

"They won't hurt me. It has been observed that they had formed an attachment to me." _And it has been observed that the attachment goes both ways_. "I'll be fine." Katashi didn't look convinced, but then again, I didn't sound convinced. _Damn you Henry for making me do this._

Oh yes, Henry. Apparently he didn't like my passive aggressive actions, and was getting back at me by making me prove his theory regarding the Rexes. He felt that if I were to enter the enclosure with them, I would be fine. My counter theory was that if I were to enter the enclosure with them, I would die.

"Alright, but if anything goes wrong, you use that radio." I nodded, and Katashi motioned to the ACU standing on either side of the door, stun sticks at the ready. Door opened, nothing moving on the other side. I'm in, door closes.

And there's the regret. _DAMN you Henry. If I die, I will haunt you, I swear._

It only took a minute of me walking before one of the pair approached me. Rapid clicking from behind me made me turn, coming nose to nose with the bigger one, the one with spines. It was the older one. Okay, here we go. Stay calm, act cool and do not panic. I got this. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a croak. It blinked slowly; right, try again.

"Hello, Ten." Success. It tilted its head, chirping curiously at me. "I need to check you over, so please don't kill me." Even though I knew they couldn't understand me, I swear that Ten looked indignant at my request. Setting my briefcase down, I opened the clasps, keeping an eye on Ten. Ten didn't even make a move towards me, too busy inspecting what I had in the case.

I swiftly went through the motions of the checkup, moving with as much haste as I could muster while still being cautious. I was just about done when I checked the gender, just to be thorough. I moved back from between Ten's legs, looking it in the eyes incredulously. "You are most certainly _not_ a girl." If Ten could, I would say he looked amused. More importantly though, how did this happen? We had covered all of our bases when it came to gender this time—so there would be no accidents like Jurassic Park—so how did Ten do it? Could it just have been a fluke? Was Lu a girl? Dear goodness, could Ten and Lu breed?

It took me a moment to come to my senses. They wouldn't breed, they were from the same nest; instincts prevented them from inbreeding on that close of a level. _But we made them in a lab_ , the small voice in the back of my head whispered, _what if they don't have that instinct?_ I shoved that to the side. It wouldn't do my any good to think about it now; for now, I should just get through the checkup and make it out alive and unharmed. Though Ten hadn't made any threatening moves towards me, I wasn't looking to tempt fate. And I still had to find Lu, and do his/her checkup.

I turned to Ten and asked humorously, "Don't suppose you know where the other one is, do you?" I felt my throat close up when Ten nodded, and then turned to head off into the enclosure. I stood there, frozen, staring at where Ten had disappeared. It understood me.

 _Oh God. What have we made?_

I didn't have time to calm down, as only moments later Ten returned with Lu near skipping behind him. I went through the check up as easily as I had with Ten, Lu making no hostile movements, though there were quite a few curious movements. Checking Lu gave me a jolt of fear (I remembered what had happened last time I gave mediacl aid to Lu) and cringed at what I found. _Girl._ But they were still nest mates. That said, I would have to keep an eye on this. And most certainly not tell Henry. He would let his science brain get ahead of him, and the next thing I would hear from him was that he was implementing a breeding program. He always got so caught up in what he _can_ do that he often forgot what he _should_ do.

Yeah, no telling Henry.

Bending down, I reached for my case, only to find it gone. I whipped my head up, and stared. Lu had my case in her claws, head tilted. "Don't chirp at me cutely. Give me my case back, Lu!" Lu gave another chirp, before running off into the enclosure. I groaned; now what was I going to do?

A shove from behind made me squeak and fall forward. Ten had nudged me forward—well, nudged in his opinion, shoved in mine. Laying on the ground, heart beating fast, I glared up at him, as he bent down and nudged me again, trying to get me to get up. "I'm noticing you seem to be a very touchy individual, aren't you? You shoved me over the first time we met in here too, you know." He snorted as I stood back up.

I was far too relaxed with them, but my theory had been confirmed. I had nothing to fear from the pair. If I thought they had the instinct, I would have claimed they had imprinted on me; however, with the cocktail of genes we had shoved in the embryos, the odds were statistically impossible for that to happen.

Another shove from behind, though much gentler than the first, got my attention. "Seems you're pretty impatient too." Another shove. "Alright! I'm walking." Walking forward into the enclosure with a pushy genetically modified dinosaur; not many people could claim to have done that. After a minute, I could see the door. Next to the door stood Lu, holding my kit upside down and shuffling her feet.

 _They brought me to the exit. Why?_

* * *

A bit of a mystery to leave you on.

This was scheduled for maybe two chapters from now, but people had been commenting on how hard it was to distinguish between the rexes, so I gave them their names early. Relationship development in the next few chapters, another meeting with Owen, and then movie plot begins. Are you all ready?


	9. Interlude 3: The Naming

They don't let Green feed us anymore. They drop food in from a crane.

I don't like it. Want Green back.

Littler One sees Green in the glass box, watching us. Others there too. Loud White is often there.

Really don't like her. She's too loud

The air feels different today. Something will change today. Perhaps people will be entering from beyond the door. I usually watch the door, trying to see what was beyond it, but it didn't open anymore. I don't anymore.

Crunching. Something other than Littler One is in the enclosure. Who? What? Is it Green? It _is_ Green!

I click at Green, making them turn. Green takes a deep breath, as if to calm herself. Did I startle her? Hope not, I like Green. Littler One likes Green. Green is good.

Green just squeaked at me. I don't think she meant to say what she did, it made no sense. "Hello, Ten." Ah, that made more sense. But Ten? Was that my name, like she was Green? I hoped so, I would like to have a name. But wait, was Indominus Rex not our names? That's what they always called us. "I need to check you over, so please don't kill me."

Kill Green? I would never! Green was too nice, and killing her would make me—Ten! A Name!—sad and Littler One sad too. Where would Green get such an idea?

Green set down the box she was carrying, and opened it up. Inside were such interesting things! Green used such strange and fun things; she must be smart! Green was doing things as I inspected the case, but then she stopped. Green looked at me funny.

"You are most certainly _not_ a girl." Oh how naïve Green is! She didn't know I was male all this time! How silly. Green was silly.

"Don't suppose you know where the other one is, do you?" I tilted my head at Green. _Of COURSE_ I knew where Littler One was! I darted off into the brush towards Littler One. Found her and told her Green was here and brought her back.

Green checked over Littler One, calling her Lu. Is that Littler One's name? Littler One/Lu took the case in her claws, and offered to take it back for Green. We want to make Green happy. "Don't chirp at me cutely. Give me my case back, Lu!" Littler One/Lu chirped that she forgot Green couldn't speak like us, and then darted off with Green's case.

When Green didn't follow, I nudged her forward. I was too rough and knocked her over. I tried to help her back up to apologize. "I'm noticing you seem to be a very touchy individual, aren't you? You shoved me over the first time we met in here too, you know." I snorted at her, not dignifying that with a response. I was most certainly not touchy.

Or maybe I was, but just with Green. That gave me pause, as Green griped about being impatient. Why was Green so important to me, to Littler One/Lu? It just felt like Green was important.

Like I owed her something… but what?

* * *

AN: I realized while writing this that if it was taken out of context, this could totally be a save the Earth/ Green Planet advertisement. It's little things like that that make me happy.

Also, I'm sure some of you have noticed what I was unsubtly doing here. With each Interlude, the intelligence level of Ten has increased. In order so far it has been BABY, TODDLER, SMALL CHILD. Up next will be PRETEEN, so much angst and self-searching abounds!


	10. Chapter 7: The Incident

NOTE: Two months have passed from the last chapter, so that explains the growth changes.

* * *

"Henry, I know you're excited, but really. This wasn't planned, and I'm worried about how it could affect them." Henry waved me off, looking over my report cheerfully.

"The cuttlefish genes were added for expedient growth cycles, we knew that. This is normal." Henry admonished me, his eyes glinting happily. I growled, smacking my report out of his hand to get his attention.

"Growing fifteen feet in four days is _not_ normal! We predicted them being 50 feet long, _maximum._ Ten just broke 50, and is still going!" Henry sighed, sitting down at his desk and pouring us both a cup of tea.

"Sam, what would you have me do? You know just as well as I that Cross-Genetics is a very…finicky field. Things happen, as much as I wish they wouldn't, they do. We can't change that." He paused, taking a sip of his tea. I did the same. Mad as I was, I still couldn't resist Henry's tea. "Anyway, there hasn't been any negative behavior or physical degradation."

"Oh? Like increasingly aggressive behavior, lack of attention and OCD traits?" I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes at him. He gave a slight cough, looking away as he took another sip of tea.

"I'll give you that one. Those started before the 'growth spurt' though, so they don't count. I will agree that they worry me. None of the other dinosaurs have reacted in such a manner, not even the raptors nor the T-rexes, though the sorting behavior was observed in the Majungasaurus*." He ran a hand over his hair agitatedly. "We might not even be able to _use_ their behavior to compare to the Indominus Rex due to the genetic variability. We can only predict how the genes will interact with one another."

Henry looked at me, swirling his tea around his cup. "This is uncharted territory. We are making history." I looked away, sipping at my tea as I observed the tourists outside the glass.

 _...Or a tragedy._

* * *

 _Chirp._

I leaned my head against the glass, watching Ten and Lu play fight. It was cute, but terrifying too. With Ten clocking at over 50 feet long and still growing, and Lu at 45 feet—though she appeared to have stopped growing—the cute behavior was nightmarish. Buchannan joked about them going through puberty—which was a ridiculous notion, as dinosaurs didn't go through puberty—and hitting maturity. The idea had some merit, I would admit. Ten's spines had grown longer during his growth spurt, as had all of his more pointy parts, and his chirps were no longer so…chirpy. Lu's body had become more streamlined, like a teen growing into her own.

Of course, this was all distance observations. After the maiming of one of the ACU during a checkup, the enclosure had been a No-Go zone. Security had been upgraded to prevent any incidents while the enclosure was being expanded—we really hadn't planned for them to reach 50 feet, let alone exceed it.

 _Chirp. Chirp-chirp._

I refocused my eyes on the pair to find them looking at me heads tilted. I would say looking up at me, but that wasn't the case any longer. I was eye level with them. Lu placed her claws against the glass, chirping at me.

I gave a tired smile, looking into her bright golden eyes. "What do you see through those eyes? We predicted you would see heat, like the pit viper, but with how you keep breaking all our expectations, I doubt that's right."

 _Chirp._

Lu pressed her nose against the glass, her breath fogging it up. I chuckled. Okay, despite being large killing machines, that was still cute. Ten chuffed, eyes focused on my cross legged form as he towered over his twin.

"You really are the only one they respond to any more," Buchannan said, moving up from where he had been sitting at the console. "Since you've been around less without the checkups, they've been withdrawing and becoming despondent." He leaned over me, looking at Lu. _Hissss._ The rattling hiss shook the glass slightly as Ten pulled his lips back to display his fangs. My eyes widened. _What?_

"Ten? What are you doing?" He pressed his claws against the reinforced glass, causing a horrible screeching. I pulled back shocked. I had never seen them act like this; had the increasing aggression finally reached the boiling point?

Lu snarled, her eyes fixed on Buchannan. Buchannan took a step back, pulling me away with him. "Get back!" Lu roared—Lu, out of the two of them, _roared_. Mindblowing—and smashed her head into the glass. It held, cracks spreading out like the web of a spider, frosting the glass. Behind the cracks I could see their glowing eyes, like a nightmare.

"Lu…?" My voice was quiet, as Buchannan pulled me out of the control room, shouting into his radio. My eyes were locked on Lu as she smashed into the glass again and again, snarling ferociously.

"They've gone mad! They're breaking the glass! I need ACU out here NOW!" I wasn't listening. I was focused on something far more horrifying. Lu had turned from the glass, shoving at Ten with her head. Ten snarled once again, raking his claws across her side as she bit his neck. Blood splattered against the glass as the door shut, blocking my view. I could still here the roars.

"LU! TEN!" I screamed, but my scream was drown out by theirs, as they tore each other apart. I slid to my knees as ACU pulled up and flooded the area. I could feel my phone buzzing in my pocket as I sat there, numb. I had to answer… No. I had to make a call.

I ignored the call, vaguely registering it as Claire—I would pay for this later—and made my call. "Hello?" The familiar voice was questioning, but it sounded so far away.

"Henry, it's me."

* * *

So. I have nothing to say for myself. However, I did mention that bonding would be occurring two chapters back. Was this what you all had in mind?

Now the real question: what happened to Lu and Ten? Tell me what you think. I'm curious to see if anyone knows where I'm going with this.

*The Majungasaurus has been theorized to have organized its nest meticulously. No confirmation of the theory, but I liked the idea of OCD dinos.


	11. Chapter 8: The Assessment

WARNING: Hot tempers lead to cursing. Also, minor feels and guilt tripping.

* * *

 _Clack-clack._

Claire's blindingly white heels were loud on the equally white floor tile floor as we made our way to Henry's office. Not the one the tourists could see, the one where he got work done. Not that there would any tourists at four in the morning anyway. Her face was stone, and she hadn't looked at me since she had dragged me from the paperwork I had stayed up all night doing. I muffled a yawn into my shoulder; she was mad. Not at me, surprisingly, but at Henry. She read my reports like he did, but had left behavior analytics up to him. A decision she now counted as a mistake. Though she might be slightly peeved about me not answering my phone yesterday, though in my defense I was a bit preoccupied. Probably should deal with that.

"Sorry," I muttered, drawing her up short. She looked at me before continuing to walk towards Henry's office, like she hadn't even stopped. "I didn't mean to ignore your call. It was just that…well…" Two genetic experiments that I had slowly become emotionally invested in were fighting to the death. I was a bit out of it.

Claire gave a small laugh, her eyes softer as she looked at me. I think. "You prioritized the health of the assets. I'm not mad about that, Samantha." She huffed, tightening her hands on the file she held—the one filled with my previous reports. "I'm more upset that _both_ of our multi-billion dollar assets were damaged! What was Wu thinking?" That made sense. Claire was nothing if not a perfectionist, and having an avoidable loss of capacity was near apocalyptic to her. The rest of the walk was silent, broken only by Claire's irate mutterings and my muffled yawns.

She slammed the glass door open, and for a moment I thought it would shatter just like her temper. I rubbed my eyes; I needed to get some sleep or I would start saying my metaphoric thoughts out loud and wouldn't that be a mess. Henry jumped slightly, setting his cup of tea—when was he without that cup, I wondered—down on his desk and giving us a reproving look.

"There's no need for that." Claire stomped up to his desk, all barely reined in fury and perfectly arranged white. She slammed the file down on his desk, upsetting some of his paperwork. I stayed by the door, entranced by the uncharacteristic fury Claire was displaying.

"What the hell happened, Wu?" She leaned over his desk at him, eyes spitting fire. "We have two badly damaged assets that we sunk billions, if not trillions into on your insistence, and warning signs out the ass that this was going badly!" Henry sighed, leaning back in his chair slightly. He glanced at me with a questioning gaze and I looked away.

"Calm down, Claire. I have been informed that both of them will recover with minor scarring." He tilted his head, smiling tightly. "You can market such damages as evidence of their savagery. I know you have potential investors lines up for these two. Who was it now? McDonalds?" Claire ground her teeth, before smiling tightly.

"Verizon Wireless, actually. Investors that were set to be viewing the assets next week," she snarled through her smile. Her nails screeched lightly on Henry's desk, making me wince. Claire had decided; if she was pissed, we all would know about it. "I'll have you know I _will_ be reporting this incident to Mr. Masrani." Henry gave a smirk, leaning back in his chair.

"Go ahead. Masrani will take no actions against me." He gestured grandly to the office around him, at the displays sitting on his walls. "All of this exists because of me. Project Ares would have never gotten out of the planning phase." I coughed lightly, giving him a look. Thanks Henry. He huffed at me, and took a sip of his tea. "Besides, they exhibited no aggression towards each other until the incident yesterday, and Dr. have not shown any aggression towards each other while in recovery." He pointedly looked at me, and I took my cue.

"I haven't submitted my full report—" the one sitting on the desk you happened to drag me away from for this, actually"—on the incident yet," I began, drawing Claire to look at me as I slumped into the room, "but I believe the attack was not random." Claire straightened up. "Their behavior was amiable for the most part. There must have been outside stimuli that caused it."

Henry steepled his hands as Claire contemplated what I had said. "The only two personnel in the immediate area were you and James Buchannan." The silence was painful. "The only recently new stimuli would have been you." Claire looked at me, eyes sharply focused in on my tired form. "I'm going to remove you from Project Ares for a couple of weeks. We need to determine if you are the cause of the outburst." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I hope that I'm wrong, seeing as I don't want to waste time bringing someone new up to speed on managing the Project, however…" She trailed off. I understood; this is what I wanted right? To be taken off the Project, to no longer have to interact with Lu and Ten.

That's what I had wanted. Right? Okay, not anymore. I had become slightly emotionally attached to the pair of oddly adorable abominations I had helped bring into the world. Darn those latent maternal instincts. Why couldn't they have kicked in with kittens or something and not 50 foot plus reptilian/avian monstrosities? But… was it really—

"Sam." Henry's voice dragged me from my musings. He looked concerned, as did Claire, though hers was much vaguer— I may have been interpreting it wrong; just as easily could have been disgust— as I blinked at them wearily. Apparently I had been thinking for a bit longer than I thought. "You need to rest. I will see you tomorrow for your new—hopefully temporary—assignment." I nodded, and moved out of his office, ignoring the muffled conversation that sprung up from inside. I made it down into one of the adjoining halls before I slid down the wall, crumpled up on the floor. I put my head on my knees in the quiet hallway at four in the morning, the warm lights bathing the hall like candle light—no cheap fluorescent lights for Masrani. In the silence I closed my eyes.

Was it really my fault?

* * *

Can anyone guess what Sam's temporary assignment will be?

 ***EDIT: Thank you to the Guest reviewer who pointed out my errors. I made the necessary editations.**


	12. Chapter 9: The Madman

So before we move on to the next chapter, I would like to give a huge thanks to a guest reviewer from last chapter. As I am pumping these out whenever I can on a tight schedule, I often make massive mistakes when it comes to punctuation. Thanks for pointing out my extremely excessive use of semi-colons. I would not have noticed until I reviewed the chapter in about a week and cringed. You are a helpful blessing to an author working without a Beta.

My effusive thanks aside, on to the story.

* * *

How had my life come to this? Pressed low in the driver's seat of jeep, hiding from a half-naked raptor handler while fumbling to silence my phone; not the highlight of my life. "Umm, Sam?" Owen's voice cut through the jingle of my phone. "You know I can see you, right?"

"Please just ignore my existence… And put a shirt on."

"Why?" He leaned against the door of the Jeep, looking down on my scrunched up form, eyebrow raised. "Don't like what you see?" No, and that was the problem. I couldn't think straight with Mr. Abs staring me down. Oh God, what had I done to Henry to make him do this to me? Was he still upset about the passive aggressive thing?

"Oh, go train a raptor!" I snarl, finally silencing my phone. Owen chuckled, moving away from the side of the Jeep, still not putting on his shirt. Damn him. He was making this harder than it needed to be. However, this was my chance.

Slipping out the side of the Jeep, I scurried over to the scaffolding above the enclosure, to make my observations. I managed to stay out of his sight. Why was I attempting to avoid Owen Grady? Simple; the man had decided that I was prime conversation material. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, seeing as he was a great conversationalist, but there was just one catch.

The man refused to put a shirt on. And it was very hard to remain professional when a six pack and a crooked smile were in your face. He refused to wear it unless necessary, saying it was too hot. _It was hot out, but not that hot!_

"Ah, finally come out of hiding I see," the baritone voice rumbled from behind me, amused. Turning slowly, I gave Barry a sheepish smile. The taller French man smirked down at me. "However, if you are looking to avoid Owen, this is not the place to be. We will be doing hunt conditioning in a few moments. Owen will be standing more or less exactly where you are."

Well, wasn't that a dilemma? Stay here and do my job, or chicken out and flee? Darn it Samantha, steel up! You're a professional. Barry ignored my internal battle, continuing on. "You will have a good view from over there, by the containment zone." I looked where he was pointing. Still high up, away from this area; it was ideal.

"Thanks Barry," I murmured, moving over there swiftly. I could hear him chuckling as I slipped away. Settling down on the ledge, I pulled out my notebook and pen. I studiously avoided looking at Owen—now with a shirt, that jerk—as he walked up onto the scaffolding with a bucket of rats. I could hear Barry mutter something to him before he moved away, but I was too far to understand it.

Owen set the bucket down, and spoke into his radio. "Release the pig." Moments later squealing echoed around the enclosure as the panicked pig shot through the underbrush. It wasn't even seconds later that the raptors were after it, moving as a cohesive unit to pin it in. They started to herd it to a wall, but it was too late; the pig had already made it to the clearing near the front of the enclosure and slipped into the safe zone.

Owen held up a hand as the beta, Blue, entered the clearing. "Hold!" Blue stopped and hissed, tapping a fore claw on the ground as the others came up behind her. I wrote down the movement; vibrations or sound? How did that signify anything to the other raptors if they could not see the motion? The raptors snarled, and Owen made another call. "Hey!" They all looked up. I looked over at him.

Owen had his hand up, shoulders stiffened and eyes hard. His body posture was all dominant as he lifted the clicker. "Okay," he said, clicking it once. "Eyes on me." Charlie, Delta, and Echo obeyed; Blue did not, still watching where the pig went. Owen tilted his head, voice becoming harder. "Blue?" She didn't listen, still looking. Owen leaned forward, clicking a few times. "Blue!" Her head shot up, and she gave a rattling hiss at him. He pointed toward her sternly, clicking again. "Watch it."

This was a side to Owen I hadn't seen. He was normally very laid back, and joked quite a bit. Sure, he had a presence when he walked into a room—you always knew when he walked into the room for the Predators Handlers meetings—but I had never seen him take control like this. It was rather… impressive. I blushed, turning my attention back to the raptors. _Don't think about things like that! He's your co-worker, and that would be unprofessional of you._

Charlie snapped at the air angrily and tossed her head. "Hey, Charlie, hey! Don't give me that shit!" Delta shuffled impatiently. "Delta! Lock it up!" All the raptors settled down and Owen gave a satisfied smile. "Good," he called, pressing the clicker rapidly. He raised his hand up again, stepping back slightly. "And we're moving!" Moving sideways, eyes on the pack the whole time, Owen stepped around the corner of the scaffolding back to the bucket. The raptors snapped at each other waspishly, screeching but kept their attention on him.

"Hold!" Owen waited a few moments as the raptors watched him. "That's good. That is damn good." I scribbled quickly in my notebook as I heard rapid clicking. Did the clicking have more or less of an effect on the raptors, seeing as they used similar sounds in normal communications? As Owen tossed rats down to the raptors in reward, I observed them. They hissed and wove back and forth, as if they could not hold still.

 _Just like Lu_. I gave a huff, writing the observation down. Perhaps Ten and Lu had more raptor instinct in them than I had thought. Might be worth looking into. I paused, thinking. Could the fight between Ten and Lu have been over who was Alpha?

"Hold! Eyes up." Owen held them for a moment, and the air felt tight. I could see Blue fidgeting as she debated whether to wait for his signal or to go. "Go." And they vanished into the foliage as he dropped his hand. I let out the breath I was holding as Barry clapped, striding over to Owen. _Okay, so that was more than impressive._ I stood up, still making notes in my book. I could hear Barry congratulating Owen and I smiled. I would never say it to the man, seeing as his ego needed no boosting, but he earned the praise. From what I had seen, raptors were a whole other beast to work with and he had managed to get ahold of them.

Barry's voice died down and I looked up. The reason for the sudden drop in excitement was wobbling his way over to Owen. "Ugh, Hoskins," I muttered as the man made his way over to Owen. I steeled myself; while I was actively avoiding the man, I couldn't leave him to Hoskins. The man was delusional.

Moving closer, I pretended to be writing observations down in my journal. Owen began walking toward me, face exasperated. He made eye contact with me, and raised his brows. I muffled a snicker.

"I just saw a bond. A real bond. Between man and beast." Hoskins slipped in front of Owen, stopping him. Owen pursed his lips, nodding slightly.

"You're in my way." I snorted, and quickly looked away as he glanced at me.

"Come on," Hoskins needled. "You and me, we're the same." Owen gave him the most incredulous look I have ever seen on a person, looking him up and down. "We're dogs of war. We know that the military needs to reduce casualties. Some people think that robots are the future." I furrowed my brow, lowering my notebook. What on Earth was Hoskins talking about?

Barry came up to me. "Something, isn't he?" I glanced at him before looking back at the conversation.

"If he's going where I think he is, he's stark raving mad." I watch as Owen twisted his face up in false consideration. Barry sighed, dragging his hand across his neck.

"Unfortunately, you aren't wrong. He's been pushing for a field test." I choked on my spit. A _field test_? Was the man an idiot? Owen started moving around Hoskins, clearly done listening.

"Is he blind? Owen may have gotten them to listen, but heck if there wasn't contention. Letting them out of containment would be insanity." I huffed, tuning back in to the conversation as Barry shrugged. "I'm going in; can't leave Owen to the mad man." Barry wished me a good luck as I moved into position at the top of the stairs.

"Look, nature gave us the most effective killing machines 75 million years ago." Hoskins sputtered, stumbling after Owen. "And now we know they can take orders." Barry coughed, moving to intercept the pair. Looks like I'm not the only one attempting Operation Raptor Rescue.

"We finally make progress and that's the first thing he says? Make a weapon?" Hoskins groaned in exasperation as they continued their path towards me. Barry gave me a look and I nodded; I was ready for my attempt.

"Shit. Come on gents. It's grown up time." Owen rolled his eyes, looking out to the sky. "Drones can't search tunnels and caves. And they're hackable. The minute a real war breaks out all that fancy tech is going to go dark." Owen grimaced.

"Yeah, but that tech's not gonna eat them if they forget to feed it." Hoskins shook his head and looked at the raptors.

"Look at these creatures," he said, making a grand sweeping gesture towards them. Blue honed in on him with predatorial precision. I smirked; seemed like she wasn't a fan of Hoskins either. "They've got millions of years of instinct in their cells, instinct that we can program. Their loyalty cannot be bought." Barry made a discreet hand motion, and I moved forward from where I had been waiting. This conversation was going no-where fast. "These guys are gonna run straight into the enemy's teeth and eat them, belt buckle and all." Barry shook his head, leaning against the railing.

"What if they decide they wanna be in control?" Hoskins puffed out, clearly prepared for this question.

"Well, then we remind them who is. We terminate the rogues. Promote only loyal bloodlines." I stumbled as Barry scoffed, my eyes watering from holding in my laughter. What did he think this was, Game of Thrones? I stopped to compose myself as Barry walked off laughing while Hoskins demanded to know what was so funny. As he walked past me we made eye contact, and Barry's laughter became louder as I fought my own.

Owen shrugged as I struggled to bring myself under control. "I don't know. You come here and you don't learn anything about these animals except what you want to know." Hoskins shifted disgruntledly as I finally smothered my amusement. "You made them and now you think you own them."

"We do own them." I stepped forward quickly, body posture straight as I went in for the attack. I just could not listen to this guy any longer.

"Mr. Grady?" My voice was highly professional, and Owen whipped his head to look at me, confused. "I wanted to talk to you about the behaviors of the raptors. Walk with me?" Realization lit up his eyes and he leapt at me.

"Of course." Moving down the stairs toward me, Owen gave me a grateful smile. I opened the notebook and began murmuring lowly to him as we walked, so Hoskins couldn't hear as he followed on our heels.

"I can only buy you till the end of the stairs, so steel yourself for more of his bullshit. That said, I do have some questions about their behavior that I would like to ask you, but later." Owen nodded as if I had said something profoundly interesting. Hoskins was on us as soon as we hit the bottom of the stairs.

"I didn't see that. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. We'll need to talk about this more later, see if it can't be dealt with." He winked at me and I got the message. Closing the notebook before Hoskins could get a peek, I gave a professional smile.

"Of course, Mr. Grady." I walked off to stand with some of the other handlers, who were all watching with mild interest. I gave them a look that clearly said 'Can you believe this guy?' and snickers broke out among them. I was new to the paddock and even I could see this man was insane to ask what he did.

"These animals could replace thousands of boots on the ground. How many lives would that save?" Owen practically dove into the security box, slamming the gate shut after him. Hoskins didn't give up, ranting on about how war bred greatness. Owen put the bucket down, looking at him. I chuckled, and moved back up onto the scaffolding; with Hoskins here, my previous plan of close observation in the security box was shot to hell.

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" I stumbled at the top of the stairs, choking back my laughter. Leon, the new hire, looked at me funny from where he stood. He shifted, knocking against the control panel. The pig box shot open, releasing the pig back into the enclosure and Leon swore. He snatched up the slip stick to try and grab it. As workers raced around the scaffold, I slipped back down the stairs; there went watching from above.

Leon reached down to snag the pig, but just as he got it Charlie snapped it up, yanking on the noose line. Leon fell into the enclosure with a thud, and my eyes widened. Oh God. Owen leapt toward the inner gate as I raced towards the security box. Barry swiped his card to open it and we both dove in as Owen opened the inner gate, slamming it behind us.

Up above Asset Containment lined up to shoot. Owen sprinted in, hand up. "No, no! Hold your fire!" He slid to a stop in front of Leon, eyes on the raptors. "Hold your fire. Do not fire. Put 12 amps in these animals, they're ever gonna trust me again." Leon began scooting back and I grabbed him dragging him into the box. Barry kept his hands on the controls, waiting for Owen to come back so he could close the door.

Blue snapped at Owen in irritation. "Blue, stand down." She snarled, mincing forward. "Hey, what did I just say?" He put his left hand out as well. "Delta, I see you. Back up!" He kept moving back towards us as he watched the raptors. Looking around, I realized I could only see three.

"Where's Echo?" I whispered, and Barry's eyes shot to mine.

"Close the gate," Owen said firmly, still slowly backing up towards us. Barry snapped his head back to Owen, face incredulous.

"Are—are you crazy?" Owen kept moving back, and I moved towards the open gate. I had a vague idea of what Owen was about to do, and I would need to move fast if things went wrong.

"Just trust me." Owens voice was perfectly calm, his eyes never moving from the visible raptors.

Leon's eyes were wide as he crawled back further. "Close the gate!" Barry swore and hit the button. As the gate moved down, Owen slowly backed up further and I got ready. From the side I could see Echo move out of the bushes toward Owen's back. Before I could warn him, Owen dove for the almost shut gate. I grabbed his arm, yanking him all the way through as the raptors smashed against it.

"I'm okay," he reassured us as we stood up, Barry checking him over. Barry smacked his shoulder, growling something in French. I could vaguely understand it and chuckled as Owen said "Yeah". Should have let them eat him indeed. I followed Barry out of the security box, letting him clap me on the shoulder.

Owen looked at Leon. "You're the new guy right? Ever wonder why there was a job opening?" Leon's eyes widened, his breathing ragged. "Don't ever turn your back to the cage," Owen warned. He stepped out of the box and walked up to me as I grabbed my notebook, which I had tossed to the ground in haste.

"Hey." I looked up as he stood there, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks, I was a little short." I smiled at him, and he gave a grin. "You want to talk about those behaviors now?"

I gave a small laugh. "Sure." It was as good a time as any. Owen groaned as we walked toward his office, yanking on his shirt.

"It's too dang hot," he complained, pulling off his shirt. I sputter, face turning red as I looked away.

"Stop stripping, damn it!" He laughed at me as I made my way into his office, flustered. Barry laughed from where he stood, and shouted something in French to Owen that I didn't catch. Owen laughed.

"Someday, Barry. Someday!"

* * *

There we go. This took longer than I thought it would, as I actually had to watch the movie for the scene orientation. Hope you all liked it.


	13. Interlude 4: The Waiting

NOTE: This chapter, like all Interlude chapters, is optional. I will not be covering this scene in the regular story, however.

Fun Fact: This takes place a month after the last chapter. I'm taking creative license with the timeline.

* * *

She isn't back yet. Why isn't she back yet?

Lu wants to know too, from her enclosure. We talk over the wall by chirping, but it's empty. I want Lu with me. I want to see outside the walls. I want to know what is out there.

I want Green to come back.

Lu and I talk. We plan. We want to find her. We want to leave the tight enclosures we are in and find her. We would go somewhere where the men with guns could not find us, with Green. We would be safe. They took her. They had too. There was no other reason that she wouldn't be here.

White has been here often, talking with the male. The male that got close to Green. The one that we warned to back up. The one that made her go away.

We don't like him. It's his fault we fought and are not allowed to see each other anymore. I want Lu. I want Green.

 _I'm so alone._

Noise from Lu's side. What is going on? Frantic chirping; something is wrong. Lu is smashing into the wall between the enclosures. Shots and engines. They are taking her away! I smash against the wall as well, trying to reach her. I cannot hear anything from Lu's side anymore.

 _Lu? Lu? Lu, where are you?_ There is no answer. Where did they take her? Did they take her away, just like they took Green away? The must have. I scream and try to smash the glass in which White stands. I hate her.

 _I'm so alone._

Days pass, alone. White is back, with another man. I do not recognize him.

"…we hit a few speed bumps early on. The assets began to anticipate where the food would come from. One of the handlers nearly lost an arm. The others threatened to quit if I couldn't guarantee their safety." White gestures at the male to leave and then it is just White and the new man.

"And where is the sibling?" The man steps boldly up to the glass, looking in.

"We had it moved after the incident. We felt it was no longer safe to keep them together." Lu? Where are they keeping Lu? I want Lu. I want Green.

 _It's too quiet here._

The man—Bold—gestures at the glass. "And that?" I know he means the cracks from when I tried to eat White. I hate her.

"It tried to break the glass during the removal of the sibling." I move forward to look at them. They know where Lu is. Bold breathes deeply, staring into my eye.

"Oh, it's white… you never told me it was white." I blink slowly, growling lowly. I hated sharing anything with White.

"Think it will scare the kids?" White tilted her head toward Bold questioningly, taking a deep breath as I fix on her. Bold scoffed quietly.

"The kids? This will give the parents nightmares." He smiled, moving closer to the glass. "I had been receiving Dr. Jones's reports on their growth but this…" He gestures widely at me as I watch him. "This is more than I imagined." Who is Jones? They sound familiar…

"Is that…good?" White moves away from the glass as I move my eye to watch her. Good, she should fear me.

"It's fantastic." Bold shifted slightly. "Can she see us?"

"Dr. Jones said they could see through thermal radiation." Jones… that was what the men with guns called Green. They had Green.

 _It's too empty here._

"Where is she?" I hiss lowly, thrashing my tail against a tree. They had Green. They had Lu.

"I had her reassigned after the incident to another area. I did not wish to risk her in an unfortunate accident, seeing as the assets were becoming hostile." Bold hummed, looking at the scratches on the wall and the cracks in the glass. "So the paddock is quite safe, then?"

White straightens, moving forward. "We have the best structural engineers in the world." Bold looks at her, stepping back from the glass.

"So did Hammond." The room is silent, and I slip into the underbrush, still listening. "There's an American Navy man here. Part of a research program one of my companies is running. Owen Grady." White sneers.

"I know who he is. I have Dr. Jones assigned at the raptor paddock with him right now." White shifts uncomfortably, looking at Bold. "Sir, surely you're not suggesting that—"

"I am. His animals often try to escape. They're smart. He has to be smarter." Bold flipped on his eye coverings, turning away from the glass. "I want you to bring him in. Let him inspect the paddock. Maybe he sees something we can't."

"And Dr. Jones?" White asked, trailing after Bold.

"Have her stop by my office. I would like to talk with her about the behaviors of the siblings."

It was silent after they left, the male coming in and manning the screens once again. I began looking around the enclosure. They had Lu. They had Green. They took everything from me. I had to get out.

 _I'm so lonely._

* * *

*Keep in mind, Sam never reported that Ten was male.

So here, we see that continued isolation is never a good idea for a social creature. I figured that since Raptors were social, the Indominus Rexes would have a social bent to them as well. Isolation increases desperation.

Also, sorry this took so long. I forgot I had it finished, and since I currently don't have access to the movie, I have been putting writing these off. Once I get access to the film again, updates will be more frequent. Again, sorry about the wait!


	14. Chapter 10: The Consideration

Hey….What? Me, gone for a long time? Pssh, you're imagining things.

Jokes aside, there was a good reason. I realized that I was way too busy, so I began stockpiling chapters instead of publishing them. Now that I am not super busy, and have gotten a chance to look over the chapters, I will be updating on a normal schedule. Look forward to at least 15 chapters uninterrupted!

Schedule for this story is up on my Profile page, so please go look at that if you have any questions. The posted schedules take effect next Sunday, or 06/18/17.

* * *

"…so you're saying that Blue and Delta fought for dominance?" I was sitting on the steps of Owen's bungalow as we talked about the Raptors, my eyes avoiding him. As per usual, he was sans shirt.

"Hand me that oil rag," he motioned to it. Handing it over to him, I looked over his bike. I was never a Harley fan, but I had to admit it was a nice bike. He wiped his hands. "Yeah, it was nasty. Luckily we had seen warning signs and were able to separate them pretty quick." Standing up, he stretched languidly. I blushed, once again averting my eyes. Darn my virginal mindset. "After that though, they never once fought. Blue became the beta."

"Huh," I said, thinking. Did that mean if we put Ten and Lu back together, they wouldn't fight? It was worth noting and sending to Masrani on my next meet up with him, or at least mentioning to Henry later. I was drawn out of my thoughts by the purr of an engine. Coming down the road was a familiar car, but I was baffled to see it. What on Earth was Claire doing here?

Claire stepped out of her car and Owen looked at her askance. "What do they want now?" I snickered at the childish groan and he gave me a look.

"Mr. Grady?" Claire stepped across the grass, pausing when she saw me. "Sam." I smiled at her; while overbearing, she wasn't an awful person. Kara could attest to that. "Mr. Grady, I need you to come take a look at something." Owen was watching her, eyes considering.

"Why is she on a first name basis and I'm not?"

"Because you are an idiot, Mr. Grady." I snorted. I had not been expecting that from Miss Prim and Proper herself. "Now, if you're not too busy." Owen motioned at me and I handed him his Coke.

"Well, I'm pretty busy." Claire sighed, her eyes firmly on Owen's face. Glad to see I wasn't the only one he affected.

"We have an attraction," Claire began and Owen snorted, taking a swig of his Cola. Claire rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about the dinosaurs, Mr. Grady," She said, her voice akin to a mother talking to a slow child. "A new species we've made…" I lifted my head up. They were talking about the Indominus Rexes; I had heard from Henry that they were moving to the next phase. It stung a bit that they wanted Owen on the case and not me, but I pushed my pride aside. After successfully working with the raptors for this long, I would think he would be the best person to inspect the paddock for possible errors, given the similarities between the two.

Owen looked at me. "You just went and made a new dinosaur?" I shrugged apologetically at him and he huffed.

"Yeah, it's kind of what we do here." Claire's voice was exasperated and when I looked at her she motioned to him. I shrugged at her, just like with Owen. This was more than a professional spat; I sensed _history_. "The exhibit opens to the public in three weeks. Mr. Masrani wanted me to consult with you." She paused looking at me. "He wants to see you in his office today as well, Sam. Talk about observed behaviors." I nodded, standing up and brushing my pants off.

"Do you know around what time?" Owen looked at me curiously, and I knew what he was thinking. Not often a lowly employee went to talk with Masrani personally.

"As soon as possible." Claire replied, turning her attention back to Owen. I waved goodbye, slowly walking down the path from Owen's bungalow to the main road.

"So do you want to consult here or in my bungalow?" I stumble. That was an oddly straightforward proposition; felt more like a jab.

"It's not funny." Owen laughed as he leapt up the stairs of his place. I sped up walking, sensing the oncoming spat.

"A little funny." Oh yeah. There was definitely history there.

* * *

"I cannot afford to put them both in the same enclosure on a hunch, Sam." Masrani shot down my suggestion.

"Sir, the current enclosure that Lu is in is not suited for a creature her size, or her intelligence. After observing the Raptors, I feel that the Indominus Rexes picked up quite a bit of the raptor behaviors. If the fight between them was indeed a battle for dominance, putting them together now would result in no conflict." I put my hands on his desk, leaning forward entreatingly.

Masrani sighed, leaning back. "I want to believe you, but the wounds…Lu, you called her? Lu sustained were not minor. We were at risk of losing her, a multi-billion dollar investment." I groaned, dropping into my seat, rubbing my face.

"You don't think I know that? I made these guys with Henry, I know just how tough they are. I was there for Lu's surgery." I steepled my hands together. "Sir. I would not put them together if I was not sure that they would be safe." Masrani watched me, considering my words.

"I know that you believe that this would work, but we just cannot risk it." Opening a drawer, he pulled out a file and slid it across the desk to me. "These are the renovation plans for the second enclosure. While putting them together is not an option, I'm giving the decoration of the enclosure to you. Make it as comfortable for her as possible." He leaned back. "Once we finish with the first enclosure, I would like you to redesign the interior there as well. No one knows these animals like you do, Sam."

I gave a smile. That was so Masrani. He may be the owner of a multitrillion-dollar corporation and an invaluable park with countless money making opportunities, but he never forgot that he was working with living creatures. He made a point of visiting the enclosures at least once a month, to inspect the creatures for "happiness".

He stood up. "I am planning on heading down to the Brachiosaur Nursery, to check on the little ones." Uh huh, Masrani. Sure you were checking on them. Had nothing to do with how cute they were at that age. "Would you like to accompany me, Sam?" I laughed and stood up to follow him.

Hey, what could I say? While I may be a sucker for baby carnivores, the baby Brachs were cute too.

* * *

Should be a chapter up next week as well, now that it is summer and I've set an alarm to post these. Hope to see you all next week, when things heat up!


	15. Chapter 11: The Nephews

So. I set the alarm. I really did. I just set the alarm to start in 2018. Fixed it, and now we will be resuming the previously scheduled chapters.

Also, I want to address a review from a Guest in case anyone else was confused.

"you do know barry's African American not French right?"

Barry speaks French. He speaks English with a Southern France accent. The very first line of his wiki Bio says he is from France. His actor is French. Ergo, he is not American, but French. However, I can understand the confusion, seeing as there are French speaking areas in the United States.

Also, for clarification purposes, a minor timeline.

2012

-April 4: Wu receives authorization to create hybrids

-July 22: Samantha Jones releases her thesis on Cross-Species Genetics

-December 16: Integrated Behavioral Raptor Intelligence Study Project begins

2013

-January 3: Genetic hybrid attempt expires within hours of hatching

2014

-June 8: Wu discovers Samantha's thesis

-June 13: InGen hires Samantha

-July 2: Samantha and Wu stabilize the hybrid combinations

-September 28: Ten and Lu are hatched

-November 1: Owen Grady arrives

2015

-January 4: Ten and Lu are named

-April 19: Ten and Lu fight

-August 27: Successful training run with the Raptors

-October 10: Gray and Zach enter the park

Hopefully, that addresses any concerns with my timeline.

* * *

"The Mosasaurus* was thought to have hunted near the surface of the water where it could prey on anything it could sink its teeth into, including turtles, large fish, even smaller Mosasaurs." Courtney gestured to the water behind her. "Okay folks, let's see if she's still hungry after already eating today. She's a little shy so be nice and give her a hand when she comes out."

I leaned back, stretching slightly. Since I had the rest of the day off, after I had met with Masrani, I was taking the opportunity to go around the attractions. I was usually busy examining the dinos or making them. I didn't get many opportunities to just enjoy the park.

I had seen the show several times, but there was just something about watching something over four times the size of a Blue Whale eat a Great White Shark. In the row below me, a young boy began shoving the teen next to him, most likely his brother. I smiled. It was his first time seeing the show, it seemed. Maybe even his first visit to the park.

The boy managed to get the teen's attention just as the Mosasaurus surged up out of the water, her gapping jaws open in a deafening roar as she snapped the Great White in half. As she came back down into the lagoon, her impact forced a giant wave of water up onto the lower rows, soaking the pair. I had to give a laugh at the sopping pair as they jostled each other excitedly. I was still dry, just out of the designated splash zone.

"Oh my God!" The younger boy's delighted shriek rang clear as he shook his brother. "That was awesome!" The elder boy laughed.

As the crowd cheered and screamed in delighted fright, the bleachers began moving down to the Underwater Observatory. The Mosasaurus snagged the other half of the Great White, swallowing it down like candy. The young boy whipped his camera up, snapping a photo.

"It has eighty-eight teeth," he informed his brother as they both laughed. Huh, that was surprising. The kid couldn't be much older than eleven or so, but he could spout off dino facts so easily. Must be really into dinosaurs.

The older brother leaned over. "Wanna see something else cool?" The boy's face lit up, and he enthusiastically yelled back to him. It was refreshing to see. For some reason, the pair of them strung a cord in my heart.

"Yeah!" I tilted my head behind them. I shouldn't. I would come across as so creepy, and sketchy, and I was so going to take these two on a backstage tour. I leaned forward.

"First time at the park?" The older boy turned first, looking slightly confused, but still elated. The younger had no issues with replying, whipping around with a huge grin on his face.

"Yeah! It's so awesome! Have you been here before? Stupid question, of course you have. You just asked if it was our first time." He started to ramble a bit, and I had to laugh. He was just so…happy.

"Actually, I work here." I stuck my hand out. "My name's Sam." The older brother hesitated for a moment, before taking my hand and shaking it firmly.

"I'm Zach. This is my brother Gray." I blinked. Zach and Gray? Now, why did those names sound so familiar…? I looked at them closer. As Gray looked at me, eyes sparkling, another face with similar eyes overlapped.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to be Claire's nephews, would you?" They both froze, a look of panic—and relief, most likely at finding out I'm not a creeper—on their faces.

"You know Aunt Claire?" Gray looked at me with wide eyes. Yup, those were definitely the same eyes that Claire had. Just…more expressive and less hardened by the world. Naïver? Was that a word?

"Yeah, I work with her closely. Man does she work a lot though. A real life superwoman, she does at least three people's worth of work." A look of understanding crossed Zach's face, and I suddenly understood why they were out here. "She left you guys with Zara, didn't she? She forgot about the paddock inspection." I laughed as I saw the panic.

"Don't worry. I won't tell Zara where you are." I looked around, pretending to make sure no one would hear me, and leaned in closer. "Sweet as she is, she is just a killjoy sometimes." Gray gasped and giggled, and Zach cracked a smile. I straightened up, clapping my hands. Around us, people had begun to clear out of the Mosasaur exhibit seating.

"Now! Seeing as this is your first time here—and that Claire would probably have a heart attack if she knew you guys were alone the _entire_ time you guys ditched Zara—how about I take you guys to some of the behind the scenes areas of the park? I won't keep you for the entire day, but maybe you guys would like to see something cool…? Like the Carnivore Hatchery? Actually, I think it's about feeding time for the Baryonyx too."

The sparkle in their eyes made it worth the possible trouble I could get in. Eh, not that I would. Claire would cover for me on this one.

"Yes please!" At Gray's overly excited confirmation, I had to laugh. Getting up, I motioned for them to follow me to the drying stations. As they stood in the giant dryers—shaped like Coca-Cola Bottles—I chatted with them a bit.

"So how'd you know that we were related to Aunt Claire? I doubt she talks about us." Zach's question was equally curious as it was bitter. Gray paused his line of questioning, curious. I sighed.

"Well, Claire's mostly all business, but that's because she's always on the clock. The woman basically runs the park single-handedly." I barked out a laugh. "Actually, as the Operations Director, I think she does run the park single-handedly. That said, if you manage to catch her in one of the few times she's free, she's willing to talk personal." I tapped my chin, thinking. "First time she mentioned you guys was probably a year or two back, actually. We were taking a break down at Margaritaville—not that Claire drank anything—and we got on the subject of family." I paused, thinking about if I should continue. "She seemed really proud of you both…in her own, Claire-way. Went on and on about all the things her sister was telling her about you guys."

I think that startled them both. I knocked my head back. Claire, for all that she was a superwoman at work, was pretty poor about conveying her feelings normally. She was just so used to having to fight everyone to get to her position, so used to people talking behind her back about her, that she had become cold, reserved. Feeling the mood drop at the conversation, I quickly changed the subject.

"You boys dry? We need to hurry if we want to make it to the backstage viewing area for the Baryonyx!"

* * *

And here we go. Next chapter, things get dicey.

*So fun fact, Mosasaurus is the species name of the creature. The entire genus is Mosasaur. Who knew?


	16. Chapter 12: The Visit

Since I messed up and the chapters were late, here's a second one. For free. Two for one, anyone?

Now, aside from the very beginning of the chapter, this is all going to be third person. And without Sam. But you'll see why.

* * *

"That was so cool!" Gray leaped up as he thrust his fist up into the air. Zach laughed, rubbing his head and agreeing. As we walked out of the Carnivore Hatchery, I glanced at the time.

"Well, I've taken up enough of your time today. You should head for some of the rides, like the GyroSpheres; not only fun, two-seaters." Zach caught my drift and gave a grin.

"Sweet," Gray exclaimed, and darted off into the crowds.

"Hey, wait!" Zach called after him. Before he dashed off after Gray, he turned back to me. "Hey, uh, thanks. You were pretty cool for someone over the age of twenty." He ran off after Gray, leaving me standing there.

What the heck? I'm not that much older than twenty! I'm only twenty-five!

* * *

The Mercedes pulled up to the enclosure, and Claire parked it. Stepping out from the vehicle, Owen gazed up at the large walls of the enclosure. It didn't sit right with him to see them building the walls higher. He wanted to sigh.

What the heck had Sam made in that lab?

"We've been pre-booking tickets for months." Claire closed her door, stepping around a construction worker as she strode toward the enclosure. After a moment, Owen followed, still eyeing the walls. "The park needs a new attraction every few years in order to reinvigorate the public's interest. Kind of like the space program." Stepping onto the stairs, Claire's heels clanged against the metal. "Corporate felt that genetic modification would up the wow factor."

Owen looked at her, half incredulous, half disgusted. "They're dinosaurs. Wow enough."

Claire gave a rueful smile. "Not according to our focus groups. The _Indominus Rex_ makes us relevant again."

Owen snorted, laughing. "The _Indominus Rex_?" Claire huffed at his derision.

"We needed something scary and easy to pronounce." She turned to look at him, exasperated. "You should hear a four-year-old try to say 'Archaeornithomimus'." She opened the door to the observation deck, nodding at Paddock Supervisor Nick. Owen looked after her.

"You should hear you try to say it." Claire cut a glare at him, before moving over to a panel and pressing some buttons. Owen moved to look out the window into the enclosure. All he saw was vegetation. He narrowed his eyes. The enclosure walls were huge, so that meant the fake dino was just as big. So where was it?

Keeping his eyes on the enclosure, he tilted it and asked Claire "So what's this thing made of?" Getting an idea of what was in it would help him determine the behaviors that would result in changes in the enclosure.

Claire looked at her reflection in the glass, fixing her hair. "The base genome is a _T-Rex_. The rest is classified." She trailed off, obviously not wanting to continue.

Owen scoffed. "You made a new dinosaur, but you don't even know what it is?" That seemed so unwise.

"The lab delivers us finished assets and we show them to the public. The only two people who know what's all in the _Indominus Rex_ are Henry Wu, and Samantha Green." Claire gave a tight smile.

Owen chuckled. "And Sam didn't tell you what was in it? Figured she would've, seeing as you're on a first-name basis."

Claire gave a cutting smirk. "She didn't tell you either, Mr. Shirtless-in-Board-Shorts." Owen groaned.

"Are you really bringing that up again? For God's sake woman, it was _not_ that big of a deal!" Owen turned to look at her, exasperated.

Claire raised an eyebrow. "Sam agrees with me on the issue. While it may have been hot, Board Shorts on the first date is a no-no."

"You told her we went on a date?" Owen was shocked. Claire had basically sworn the date into obscurity, as it had gone so badly. Owen had been more than willing to sign the contract.

Claire chuffed out a laugh. "Of course not. I asked it as a hypothetical situation with no names." She looked past him toward Supervisor Nick. "Can we get a steer please?" Sensing the line of conversation was over—and not wanting it to continue anyway—Owen looked back out the window.

He still didn't see the beast. "How long has the animal been in here?" It looked like the enclosure was still being built, so they must have just transferred it into here. It seemed unwise to move it to an enclosure that wasn't finished, but perhaps this enclosure was more secure.

Claire gave a delicate shrug, searching the enclosure. "With exception to the first 48 hours, in which Samantha was monitoring it, all its life."

What? They put a lab made dinosaur that they knew nothing about, in a half-finished enclosure? That was incredibly stupid of them. And what was this about Sam? He thought she had just made it. "Never seen anything outside these walls?" Owen continued searching for the dinosaur.

Claire shifted slightly. "We can't exactly walk it." Owen was liking the sound of this entire situation less and less. It had never seen the outside of its enclosure. It had never been outside of its enclosure.

Owen pointed at the hook as it lowered the steer into the enclosure. "And you feed it with that?" And judging by that hook, it had never been interacted with on a personal level. With anyone.

Claire shook her head slightly, looking confused. "We used to have handlers enter the enclosure to feed the asset, but after an incident, we moved to using the crane. Is there a problem?" She didn't see any issues with how this was working. No injuries had been incurred since changing over to the hook, and keeping the assets separated had prevented further aggression.

Owen stared into the enclosure with a concerned look. "Animals raised in isolation aren't always the most functional." He knew from his time handling military animals that isolation could be highly detrimental to the mental health of an animal. And from what he was learning, Owen had a sneaking suspicion that isolation was all this animal had known.

"Your Raptors are born in captivity." Claire rebutted, both annoyed and confused. She really couldn't see the problem here.

Owen nodded. "With siblings. They learn social skills." He began walking toward her, eyes fixed to her with a meaning. "And I imprint on them where they're born. There's trust." He stopped, looking out the window and gesturing to the crane. "The only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane. Well, that crane and Sam, if she really did take care of it when it was small." Owen swallowed. "At least she knows that crane means food."

Claire sighed. "Sam was in-charge of monitoring the assets growth before an outburst of aggression toward her made us remove her from the project." An outburst of aggression? Owen narrowed his eyes. That was odd. Why would it become aggressive toward something it associated positively? "So, she needs a friend." Claire sounded incredulous. "We should schedule play-dates? That sort of thing?" Because having both assets together in one enclosure had clearly worked out. Claire wasn't buying it.

Owen ignored her sarcasm. "Probably not a good idea." Both of them were now earnestly searching the enclosure. It had been a bit since they had lowered the steer. Where was it?

Claire knocked on the glass. She stepped back, her voice faint and confused. "Where is it?"

Owen made a wise-crack to cover the growing unease he felt about the situation. "Is it in the basement? Is there a downstairs? Maybe it's in the rec room." Claire shook her head, panic slowly creeping in.

"It was just here. We were just here." She swiftly moved over to the panel closest to Supervisor Nick and initiated a thermal scan of the enclosure. Owen moved to look out the far side of the observation deck as Claire watched the monitors. Her heart began to beat faster and faster with every buzzer that accompanied the text _**NO THERMAL SIGNATURES DETECTED**_.

Supervisor Nick to that moment, when the last camera buzzed, to chime in with an "Oh shit." He shoved the last of his sandwich into his mouth. "That doesn't make any sense." Rolling his chair over to another panel, he shook his head. "These doors haven't been opened in weeks."

Claire began to breathe heavily. This wasn't happening. It was just a malfunction in the equipment.

Owen swallowed hard on the other side of the observation deck, pointing out the window. "Were those claw marks always there?" Claire's heart stopped. Claw marks? Walking swiftly over to his side, her breath caught in her throat like a rock. Giant claw marks adorned the thick concrete wall from top to bottom as if something had climbed its way out.

"You think it…" Seeing Owen slowly look away from her to look back at the evidence, Claire choked. "Oh God." She raced for the door. "She has an implant in her back. I can track it from the control room." She darted out the door, while Owen continued to stand, looking at the deep gashes in the concrete wall.

* * *

And so things finally reach the story. This was originally going to be one chapter, but I figured I should break it up.


	17. Chapter 13: The Beginning

No Sam for this one either, since it's a continuation of the last chapter. Still, pretty good, if I do say so myself. Especially since there are three separate locations in this scene from the movie. So as a note, I'm not going to be doing cuts. I will be doing one side of the scene (CLAIRE & CONTROL) then the other (OWEN).

Also, a lot of people noted that they would have preferred Sam being at the enclosure during the escape. She was taken off the project and has no business being there, so having her there makes no sense. Additionally, I have plans for Sam. Big plans.

* * *

Claire sped down the muddy dirt access road, calling the Emergency Response Center. "We have an asset out of containment. Put ACU on alert. This is not a drill." She hung up and hit the speed dial for the control room.

"Hello?" Lowery answered the phone.

"Lowery." The frantic, panicked nature of Claire's voice silenced made Lowery freeze. Claire never sounded anything less than perfectly composed. "Get me coordinates on the _Indominus_ , Asset One." Lowery swallowed hard, exchanging a look with Vivian. Her eyes were filled with shock and growing fear.

"Okay, uh yeah." Masrani strode onto the floor, having just arrived from his office. He had been called by the Emergency Response Center regarding a dangerous asset out of containment. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew which one. "I'm doing it right now."

Masrani leaned on the back of Lowery's chair as he swiftly entered the commands. It took only moments for the tracker to ping. "Wait, what the hell?" Looking again at the result, Lowery confirmed it. "It's in the cage."

Claire pushed her foot down further, going faster and faster. "No, that's impossible. I was just there!

Lowery shook his head, his eyes on the screen. "Claire, I'm telling you, she's in the cage." Masrani swung his head up to look at the main screen. The camera feed from the enclosure was up, Owen, Nick and Ellias inside the enclosure. "Wait a sec. There are people in there."

Claire felt her breath leave her in a burst. "Get them out of there right now," Claire screamed, the situation fully sinking in. "Now!"

Vivian hailed the trio, her heart pounding. "Paddock 11, this is Control. You need to evacuate the containment area." No response. "Paddock 11! Paddock 11, do you copy?"

Nick's voice came over the radio line. " _Yeah, what's the problem?_ " Vivian couldn't breathe. Oh, God.

"It's in the cage! It's in there with you!" The room watched as the trio raced for the door, only to find their path blocked by the _Indominus_. As the _Indominus_ scooped Ellias up, the room went silent, the crunch of his body giving way to massive jaws loud.

A warning began blaring in the room as one of the massive doors began to open, Nick slipping out. Masrani made his call. "Close the door."

"We can't lock him in there with that thing." Lowery protested, motioning toward the screen where Owen was sprinting for the door.

Masrani shouted, "Close it now!" He slammed his hand down on the emergency lock button, and the door began to close. But Masrani knew it was too late. The door was too slow. Lowery clutched the phone against his ear, staring at the screen.

Claire screamed into the phone. She had heard the crunch, but she didn't know what had happened. "Somebody talk to me! What is happening?" Nobody answered, and she dropped the phone, flooring the car.

* * *

Owen and Supervisor Nick moved into the enclosure. Nick nervously scratched his arm. The enclosure was still, with exception to them and the security guard, Ellias, on the other side by the wall. Owen felt uneasy, his instincts from his time in the Navy SEALS and with the Raptors sending warnings up his spine.

Standing at the wall, Owen ran his hand down the gashes. They were deep, a clear sign that this thing was no joke. He drew back slightly to look at the entire wall. The marks went all the way up. Something about the marks was nagging at him.

"That wall is 70 feet high*." Nick put his hands on his hips. "Do you really think she could have climbed out?"

Owen stared up at the wall, the sense of dread he was feeling growing stronger. "It depends."

Nick looked at him. "On what?"

Owen took a moment before responding, clenching his fists. "What kind of dinosaur they cooked up in that lab." _On what kind of dinosaur Sam had made in that lab._ The distorted sound of someone hailing them from the radio halted that train of thought.

" _Paddock 11!_ " Owen turned around, his gut screaming at him. Something was very wrong. " _Paddock 11, do you copy?_ "

Nick grabbed the radio, responding. "Yeah, what's the problem?" Owen turned back to the wall, looking at the deep scratches. His eyes widened. They weren't at the right angle.

" _It's in the cage! It's in there with you!_ " Owen grabbed Nick's arm, dragging him for a brief moment as he ran for the door.

"Go!" Ellias sprinted ahead, followed by Owen. Nick wasn't as fast though. Ahead of him, he saw the foliage move and he stopped. Running back to the wall, he hit the controls for the big door. Owen and Ellias skidded to a halt as the behemoth of a dinosaur stepped out of the dense cover onto the path, blocking the way to the door.

As it roared at them, Owen had a moment of clarity. _It had planned this._ Turning around and running back toward Nick, Owen pulled ahead. Ellias fell behind, and screamed as claws pierced his chest, scooping him up for the _Indominus_ to crunch into. As the _Indominus_ was distracted with its snack, the door to the enclosure began opening. Nick slipped through, and the door began closing.

Owen fixed his eyes on the slowly vanishing gap of the door. "Shit!" He raced through the opening, not even slowing down. Behind him, the _Indominus_ crashed its way through the still open door, concrete shattering around it as it left the enclosure. Owen slid underneath a boom-lift, rolling onto his stomach to watch the animal.

His breathing was heavy as the giant creature stepped out, snarling and sniffing the air. He kept quiet as it walked by, and as he turned, his heart dropped. Hiding behind a construction truck was Nick, clearly visible to the _Indominus_. Owen watched as Nick whimpered, tears in his eyes as he kissed the cross he wore around his neck. With a loud crash, the beast smacked away the truck, leaving Nick sitting out in the open. Nick met Owen's eyes, and then he was gone.

The _Indominus_ bit through his fleshy body with ease, swallowing him down in chunks. As Owen watched, something Claire had said to him echoed through his head. 'they're very sensitive to smell', which meant that it could smell him. Rolling onto his back, he yanked out the knife he always carried and began cutting through the line for the hydraulic fluid. As the _Indominus_ finished up, he poured the fluid all over his body, his eyes watering from the smell.

As it approached, Owen lay absolutely still, holding his breath. It lowered its head down to sniff around the boom, and Owen felt his heart seize. It had to know he was there. But seconds ticked by, the _Indominus_ sniffing around. Finally, it let out a growl and stood up, walking away from where Owen lay. He let out a sigh of relief.

* * *

As the doors opened enough for her to squeeze through, Claire stepped onto the control room floor, and the room went silent. Everyone looked at her, waiting. Claire would know what to do. Claire always knew what to do.

She took a deep breath. "Everyone, remain calm." She stepped down onto the main level, speaking quickly and firmly. "The implant will shock it if it gets too close to a perimeter fence."

Lowery was tracking its movement at his station. "Okay. It's moving really fast." Vivian let out a stuttered breath.

"This is Control. Put out a park-wide alert—" Masrani swiftly interrupted.

"Hang up that damn phone, please." He stepped down onto the main floor, and Vivian complied.

"Sorry, I'm getting new information. Everything's fine." The words left a bad taste in her mouth, but she felt she had a good understanding of why Masrani stopped her.

Masrani gestured with his hands, making a movement as if to suppress the situation. "Let Asset Containment capture it quietly. The very existence of this park is predicated on our ability to handle incidents like this." He stepped forward, locking eyes with Vivian. "It was an eventuality, okay?"

Lowery made a face. "You should put that in the brochure. 'Eventually, one of these things will eat somebody.'" The venom in his voice was toxic, making Masrani give him a swift glare to shut him up.

"That paddock is four miles from the nearest attraction. ACU can handle this. No one else is gonna get…" Claire trailed off, unwilling to say it. Lowery was more than willing to step in.

"Eaten?" The word hung heavy in the air. Claire cut a glare at him, unwilling to acknowledge what was in front of her.

"What is the status of Paddock 12?"

" _Indominus_ Asset Two is still within containment." Lowery traced the path that Ten was taking. "At the speed Asset One is at, and the direction, she will be heading away from Paddock 12."

"I want Paddock 12 on high alert. While the asset may not be headed that way, if she was able to escape in this manner, her little sister may be able to as well." It made sense to everyone present. After all, they were the same genetic combination.

What one could do, the other could do as well, right?

* * *

*So, in the movie the wall is only 40 feet high. However, due to miscalculations on my part, Ten is already 50+ feet tall. Ergo, a 40-foot wall seems a little short. But could you imagine?

Also, I know that it was about time for an Interlude, but the Interlude wouldn't make any sense if this chapter wasn't out before it.


	18. Interlude 5: The Escape

A chapter late for this Interlude, but I think that you all will forgive me with its contents. Like I said before, I have plans for Sam. In other news, I may need to change them given the fact that there is going to be a Jurassic World 2. Whether or not I include that into the time line is wholly based on if that movie turns out to be good.

* * *

It was time. I moved myself low to the ground, watching as White brought a new person into the observation deck. I could smell him. He smelled of machines, of something like me, of human.

He smelled of _Green_.

I withheld my snarl. He had seen Green. He had seen her recently. Within the day. Where was Green? Where was she?

I calmed myself. Patience. I had had the patience to wait this long. I can wait just a bit longer. Soon I would be out beyond these walls, out where they took Lu, where they took Green.

 _I would get them back_.

They lowered a hunk of meat down on the hook, like they did ever since I _tore ripped_ the man who wasn't Green. The man who smelled of machines—the kind humans rode in…cars—and Green looked displeased at the sight. I could hear him.

"The only positive relationship this animal has is with that crane. Well, that crane and Sam, if she really did take care of it when it was small." Sam? Sam is Jones is Green. No, Green is _Green._ Sam and Jones are the names the humans call her. Green is what we call her. He knows where Green is. Did the man know where Lu was too? I watched him closely.

This one was different from the others that had come. Not like Green was different, but different the same. He felt more like Lu did, like me myself did. He smelled like us too. He felt like a Hunter.

The Hunter moved around as White began to become impatient with me. She strode over to Fat and made the machines—cameras, thermal scanners they were called—search for me. They would not find me. I knew that they wouldn't before they failed. I had learned to hide from these thermal scanners. Hunter gestured toward the marks I had made on the wall, and White panicked.

"Oh, God. She has an implant in her back. I can track it from the control room." I could smell her fear as she raced from the room. I let out a quiet growl. That must be the thing they had Green put in me and Lu. I could still feel it under my skin. So they could use it to find me outside the cage too? It would have to go then.

 _Patience._

I only had to wait a short while longer before Hunter, Fat and Smoky entered the enclosure. I watched them walk to my marks, and held in my pleased growl. Soon they would learn I was still in the cage, and they would be forced to open the door. And I would be out.

The machine—radio, if I recall—bleated the sound of a female. " _It's in the cage! It's in there with you!_ " The Hunter was the first to run, followed by Smoky. Fat did not even try, and instead went back to open the big door.

Good Fat. So predictable.

I stepped out of the trees onto the path, blocking the way back to the small door. I needed them to open the big door for long enough that I got through. The Hunter was fast. Smoky was not. I _crunch tore ripped ate_ Smoky. He tasted good.

I looked up. The door was open, and Hunter was halfway to it. I hissed my pleasure. They would not be able to close the door before I got there. Chasing after Hunter, I bashed my way through the door and roared my triumph, relishing the feeling of the walls that had held me falling against my body.

I was free.

Moving out further, I stopped to eat Fat. He tasted like fear. _I liked it._ Under the machine—no, car—next to me, I could smell Hunter. He was soaking himself in the fluid that smelled like the car. It didn't hide his scent though. Nothing could hide a smell from me.

As I went to push the machine over, I paused, sniffing. That's right. Green. This male had seen Green. It stands to reason that if I let him live, he would lead me right to Green. I let out a growl to show my pleasure, and stood up.

Let the Hunter believe he had fooled me. For I had fooled him, and when the time came to reveal my trick…

 _I would enjoy eating him._

I raised my head and trumpeted out a mighty roar. They had taken Green. They had taken Lu. They had kept me _alone lonely cold_ for so long. They took everything from me. I snorted out a hot breath as I disappeared into the trees.

Now I would take everything from them.

* * *

Hey, guys. I just wanted to ask you all to review. It doesn't need to be long, or eloquent. Just something to let me know you are out there. Sure, I can look at the stats for the story, but it's just not the same as when people _respond_ , ya know?

Besides, it makes me happy to know that writing—which makes me happy—is enjoyed by others too.


	19. Chapter 14: The Alert

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Sorry this is late folks! I went dip-netting on Sunday and got back later than expected. And then I got sun poisoning, like the near albino pleb I am. But here it is.

And we finally get to see Sam again.

* * *

" _To all units. This is a non-lethal operation. Understood?_ " Katashi Hamada shouldered his stun gun. This was a nightmare scenario. The most dangerous of all the dinosaurs on the island was on the loose, and they were not allowed to use lethal force. He got that making these things was expensive, but if they failed to constrain it, the cost would be lives.

It was only moments ago that he had been talking with one of the very people who had created this creature, Samantha Green. He had been the person to greet her on her first day at the island, back when she was bright eyed and awed at the park. Not that she still wasn't, he admitted, but now she had learned a lot about the reality of running the park, which dampened her enthusiasm. A smile traced his lips, thinking of the young woman. She reminded him quite a bit of his eldest daughter, all bluster and heart. On his downtime, he would meet up with her, if she was free and just talk. His eyes softened for a moment as he sat down in the jeep, a touch of sadness in his face.

He had learned in one of those talks that she didn't really have family. Her parents had both passed away while she was in her teens, and there weren't any relatives beyond that to care about her. That's partially why he went out of his way to go and interact with her as often as he could. No one should be alone, without family. Just the thought of being without his own caused his heart to twang painfully.

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He had to play this safe. If he failed, he most likely would die. Not only that, if his whole team failed, the odds of the park goer's making it out alive. He thought of those families, the happy, smiling faces of the kids as they explored the park. That very easily could have been his family; they had visited him at the park more than once.

Lucas knocked his shoulder with his own as he sat down. "Hey, Hamada. Lock it up, man. It'll be fine." Katashi opened his eyes, a streak of steel in his gaze.

"Yeah," he said. "Can't afford for it to be anything but fine." Lucas grinned.

"That's the spirit! Now come on, we have to catch one of Sam's 'Little Angels'." Katashi snorted. God, if Sam learned the Wu's nickname for the _Indominus Rexes_ had caught on and was still used, she might just have a stegosaurus.

"If she hears you calling it that, she might kill you herself." Lucas only laughed, slapping Katashi on the shoulder in mirth. He had to smile at that. Always could count on Lucas to be optimistic about any situation.

* * *

Barry patted Blue's head as she thrashed uneasily in the muzzle. "Sois tranquille, ca va."* Something had been unnerving the Raptors today, setting the workers around the enclosure on edge. It was never a good sign when the apex predators of the area were looking over their shoulders. He caught my eye, and jerked his head over his shoulder. "The girls are all muzzled. Try calming them down."

I snorted, but moved closer, entering the lock. I had only just arrived. "I've only been here for a couple months. I don't think they're that used to me yet." Barry looked at me firmly, a twinkle in his eyes. He motioned me closer. As I got within arm's reach, he grabbed my hand and laid it on Blue. Blue looked at me and chuffed, but allowed my hand to stay there. Her skin was warm, the ridges of the leathery crags catching my fingertips.

"They like you." Barry shoved me lightly toward the rest of the girls, before turning his attention back to Blue. "Now go. It's not good for them to be this agitated."

I sighed, sidling up to Delta. She chuffed at me, rolling her eyes and shaking in the muzzle. I patted her head carefully, feeling the soft leather of her body ripple with tremors. "What has got you so spooked?" Delta made a croon as I scratched above her eye, settling slightly.

"How fast can they run?" I looked up from Delta. Hoskins was leaning against the enclosure by Blue, interrupting Barry's attempts at calming her down. Barry pursed his lips at the man.

"Fourty. Fifty when they're hungry." Barry's reply was terse. I sympathized with him as I stroked Delta. She was slowly calming down, eyes drooping as I dragged my blunt nails down her skin. A low thrum came from her chest, and I bit back a smile. Who knew that Raptors purred?

"Whoo!" Hoskins sauntered closer to Blue, who thrashed at his approach. "You ever open them up, see what they can do?" Barry looked at him, continuing to stroke Blue gently.

"No," his blunt reply was punctuated by Blue, who hissed menacingly and jerked toward Hoskins. Hoskins leapt back, cursing and laughing.

"Oh shit!" Hitting his chest, he laughed breathlessly. "It got me. That got me." Barry gave a smile, standing up from his chair. Blue hissed as he left, walking over to me. He gave me a look at seeing Delta nearly snoozing in the harness.

Barry motioned toward the Raptors, returning his attention to Hoskins reluctantly. "What do you think? Want to take one home?" Barry gently patted Delta's head, and I stood up, giving him my seat.

"I'll head over to Blue," I whispered to Barry as I moved past Hoskins. He nodded to me politely—or, rather, as polite as Hoskins could be. Since I worked with Henry closely in asset designing, Hoskins had deemed me as a 'necessary personnel', which elevated me from playful banter to some manner of respect.

"Hey, don't joke. When I was your age, I rescued a wolf pup." I had to wonder if that was before or after he killed the mother. "It was, like, two months old. It could barely walk. It used to sleep by my bed."

I sat down by Blue, watching her watch me. She chuffed again, closing her eyes. I took that as a go ahead to touch her, trailing my fingers down her ridges. "You know," I told her, tuning Hoskins out, "You and your sisters were the second group I had a hand in designing." I traced her blue markings. "Henry walked me through the process of setting your traits, since I was nervous about doing it on my own. I had only done it once before, with Lu and Ten." I smiled, watching her eyes droop as I gently scratched her. "Guess I did something off for you to get such distinct markings, huh Blue? Sorry about that." Just like how I secretly thought I must have messed up with Lu and Ten. Ten had so many more expressed physical traits than Lu did.

Blue sighed, settling down. She was still edgy, but whatever was bothering her was less immediate than being scratched. "Still, you are more or less the most dangerous thing on this island, Blue. What had you so worked up?" Blue didn't respond, only thrumming. I huffed, tuning back into the conversation behind me.

"Can I…uh…" Hoskins rueful, near reverent voice was unusually quiet for him. The sound of Delta huffing aggressively made me turn, her growling riling Blue back up. Hoskins had gently placed his hand on her head, behind her ear. He pulled away quickly, Barry setting about calming her back down. After he got her to still, Hoskins tried again.

His hand on her skin, his voice was reverent. I guess even Hoskins knew that these were the apex of the food chain, creatures to be highly respected. "Oh wow." Showing at least this level of respect for them made my opinion of him rise slightly, though that wasn't saying much. As Hoskins pulled his hand back, a ring caught Barry's attention.

Pulling his phone out, he read the message and swore. I tensed, my hand still on Blue's neck. I could feel her trembling, her growls increasing as she picked up on my mood.

"Code 19!" The handlers outside the lock began moving, one of them checking their phone for which paddock. "They said we lost two guys!"

"Shit! That's the new one!" One of the handlers up top began sprinting for the stairs, and my heart stopped. There were only two 'new ones' on this island. Had Ten or Lu escaped their enclosure? Had one of them killed two people? I didn't want it to be true.

Hoskins stepped away from Delta, hands on his hips. "What's Code 19?" Barry turned to look at him, his face full of disgust. Not at Hoskins, for once, but at someone else.

I stood up, giving Blue one last pat. "Asset out of containment," I replied for him, drawing Hoskins' attention. "To be specific, predator out of containment." I met Barry's eyes and saw instantly that what I feared was true. He narrowed his. He knew that I had played a major part in creating the _Indominus Rexes_ , but he also knew I had been taken off the handling of them.

He was still mad though. "These people, they never learn." He stalked off out of the lock, leaving Hoskins and I alone. Hoskins watched him go, pulling out his phone as soon as Barry was gone. He appeared to have forgotten I was there in the excitement, or perhaps he didn't care.

"They're gonna learn all kinds of things about their new asset now." He began dialing, and I moved back, pressing myself against the wall near Blue. "Hey. Yeah, it's me. We might have an opportunity here." He walked out of the lock, leaving me behind. I only remained for a short while, before racing out of the paddock. I had to get to the control room.

* * *

*I can't quite catch the actual line that Barry says here, so I'm making it up. If someone knows the actual line, please let me know so I can change it. Oh, and it translates to "'Be calm, it's alright" roughly.

Things are heating up, huh?


	20. Interlude 6: The Siblings

So, I should confess that this chapter was written several months back—remember, stockpiling the chapters—and that I write the author's notes right before publishing the chapter. That said, I had to laugh at the responses to the last Interlude. A lot of you asked for what I had written for this one, and I am very pleased to announce the Interlude that you all were waiting for.

A very special Interlude with Lu.

Yeah, it's pretty early, but enough people mentioned they wanted to know what was up with Lu that I thought you'd all forgive me for moving it forward. Next chapter will be a normal chapter though, no exceptions!

* * *

They were loud. The humans were loud. Something had happened. But what? I listened closely to their words, partially masked by the alarm.

 _Indominus Rex_ , Asset One, is out of containment. Ten was out of the cage. I growled, shaking my head and hunkering low to the ground. I dug my claws into the soft earth, narrowing my eyes with glee as I watched my handlers race about atop my cage, the smell of their panic wafting down to me.

It had been so long since I had heard of either Green or Ten, but the news that had come at last was more than welcome. Ten was _out_. Well, if Ten was out, I should go and meet him. I growled low. We would kill these men, we would find Green and we would go away. Far away where they could never find us and Green ever again.

We would finally be able to be _happy._

Clattering from the top of the cage drew my eyes to the increase of humans examining my cage. They were looking for me. "Where is Asset Two?" I tilted my head, hidden among the leaves. And so White sends guards to prevent my escape as well. How wise of an otherwise ignorant creature.

"Tracker reads it's still in the enclosure. Reports say that Asset One was able to camouflage with its surroundings. Eyes up and weapons ready!" The men readied themselves, the items—guns, weren't they?—in their hands giving a high pitched whine, like that of an injured hatchling.

Like these pathetic things would stop me.

I leapt up, the ridges of my clawed feet easily sticking to the wall as I climbed. One of the men yelled, firing a round at my face. It pinged off my leathery skin like a fly, and then I was on top of them.

Swiping my tail, I smacked them off the wall of the cage, the cracking of their bones loud as they impacted the ground. Screams and whimpers came from the survivors, but I did not mind the gnats. Crouching atop the cage, I roared, startling birds from trees.

 _Where are you Ten?_

In the distance, a responding roar came. It was deeper than my own, with base tones and growling mixed in. It was a response filled with dark glee, and a familiar hunger I felt all too keenly in my own heart.

 _I'm here. Come! Play! Hunt!_

I'm coming, Ten.

I propelled myself off the cage and into the trees, my limber form easily moving through the vegetation. I blended in, my skin changing to match the leaves. I used my ridged feet to climb up a boulder, peering around at all the new sights.

 _Hunt? Hunt what?_

The surrounding life went quiet at my question, the prey trembling at my presence. I growled in pleasure. I liked that. They should fear me. Everyone should fear me. Everyone except Ten and Green.

 _Hunt Hunter, he will lead us to Green._

Ten sounded much closer, but I did not advance. Reaching a clawed hand over to my back, I ripped at my skin. I remembered. Yanking out the device they used to track me, I dropped it disdainfully. With that I continued further into the underbrush.

 _Find Green?_

I scented the air as I advanced. So many smells, so many sights. It was overwhelming. How were they to hunt this Hunter, when there was so much here? I stopped. Now what were these? Creatures with club tails where grazing in the small clearing. I raised myself to look at them better.

I wanted to hunt. Darting forward, I ignored how my foot smacked into something, roaring as I pursued the creatures. The sphere I had kicked bounced between the prey, screams echoing out of it. One of the creatures turned to fight me, its tail hitting the sphere

The creature put up quite a fight, but I easily knocked it onto its back, leaving it unable to move. Pouncing onto the disabled creature, I dug my claws into its soft underbelly, disemboweling it as I snapped its head off. It tasted good. But the flavor did not fill me like the excitement of the kill had. I was still hungry, and no matter how much of the creature I ate, I did not feel sated.

A strange buzzing caught my attention, and I sniffed the air. _Green_. Turning toward the sphere, I could smell the faint scent of Green from inside. I lowered my head, peering into the sphere. Inside were a pair of young male humans, one stretching to the ground to grab the buzzing item. They smelled like Green. Were they keeping Green from me? I wanted Green _now._

The smaller one met my eyes, panic filing his scent as he stared at me. He got the others attention, and I growled. I was hungry, and they had Green. I stood up from my crouch, grasping the ball they were in and turning it about. Raising a single claw, I pierced the sphere, using the leverage to rotate the ball so that the humans faced me. I bit at the sphere, hearing them scream as I tried to get a grip on the glass. Finally I sunk my teeth into the ball, lifting it up and slamming it down. The glass shattered, the two boys running. I clawed at the sphere, which had caught in my jaws, snarling my displeasure.

I freed my jaws and screamed after them, my screech echoing.

 _What? What is wrong? Lu?_

I raced after the pair, cornering them at the edge of a waterfall. Just before I could savor catching them, biting into their forms, the boys jumped off the edge, into the water below. I crouched at the edge of the cliff, ready to pounce if they surfaced. When they did not, I screamed my anger and turned, returning to the path I was taking to reach Ten.

 _Lost prey. Smelled like Green._

I stopped at the edge of a huge field, growling as I watched the tall creatures walk about, feeling the hunger from before rear up, the want filling me. I wanted to hunt, almost as much as I wanted Green and Ten. A hiss came from behind me, and there he was.

 _There will be more chances._

Ten looked at me, growling his assurances and joy as I did the same. Pressing against him, I scented my brother. He scented me, rubbing against me in welcome. We were together. It had been so long since they had taken him. It had been so lonely since we had been separated. However, we soon pulled apart, untwining ourselves. He growled his hunger, the same that pulled at me, as he licked the blood from my muzzle.

 _Hunt?_

I darted out, giving a mighty leap and latching onto the thin neck of one of the creatures, tearing at it as it screamed. Its wounds steamed as I bit in, my saliva slipping inside and causing it to thrash as it began to burn. The others began to flee, but Ten chased, downing several, but not stopping to feed. As soon as my prey stopped struggling, I joined him in the chase. It was fun, like before. I had missed Ten so much, and this new game we played was delightful. Ten liked it too.

He raised his head from his latest kill, growling at me with golden eyes alight with excitement. The red of the blood we had spilled was distractingly bright against his white scales. He tossed his head back and roared out his intent, one that I was very inclined to agree with.

 _Hunt EVERYTHING._

For if everything other than Green was dead, it wouldn't be hard to find her at all.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It didn't hurt that this was just so _fun._

* * *

And they take the step onto a very dark road here. Also, some interesting differences between Ten and Lu, huh?

Also, I was looking for hints about Jurassic World 2—since how that plays out could radically alter how this story goes—and from what I've learned, I do think I'll be able to play a sequel to this story. That said, it's probably not going to be a following the movie plot, at least not fully. After all, even in this story, we're about due for some canon divergence, aren't we…?


End file.
